


The Love of their Youth

by TheBusyAuthor



Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: Actors, Best Friends, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sweethearts, Cute, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Fans, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kids, Love, Love Confessions, Real Life, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Siblings, Smut, Soulmates, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 115,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24407224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBusyAuthor/pseuds/TheBusyAuthor
Summary: Growing up with his neighbour Leila is quite an adventure since she won't just become his best friend and first love interest but also his first ever girlfriend.Years later, they are very happy as best friends only - but unfortunately, it's no longer enough for Martin, who had fallen in love with his childhood friend and the love of his youth all over again - heart pounding, dancing butterflies and weak knees.Will he be able to win her heart again to not just call her his first but also last girlfriend?
Relationships: Martin Freeman/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 11





	1. A Photograph

_**\- Sunday, September/01 – 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin’s house -** _

Sunday.  
Time to relax.  
Time to enjoy.  
Time to do nothing.

It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon - it was quiet in the living room, except for the sounds coming from the telly, which were echoing through the large cosy and comfortable living room.  
Netflix was showing the third episode of the series 'Bletchley Circle', but even though Martin thought that the first episode had been incredibly interesting and exciting, he hadn't paid attention to the telly for quite some time now.

Martin was lounging on his big and cosy sofa.  
He was leaning against the backrest, had his legs stretched out, and was actually in Sunday mode today - just doing nothing.  
He wore comfortable dark grey jogging pants, as well as a dark green comfortable sweater – no socks because the weather was still quite good, and the warmth of the weather outside was even rushing through his living room. 

His smartphone was in his left hand; his right index finger was tapping the screen at regular intervals so he didn't have to re-enter his code at regular intervals.  
He didn't actually do anything with the smartphone, just looked at the screen - to be more precise, he stared at the screen with beaming eyes as his heart raced and the butterflies in his tummy danced wildly while warmth rushed through every vein, artery and cell, while a pleasant tingling sensation fluttered through his body, making his heart beat a little faster every few seconds. 

The blue eyes sparkled like the sea, shining and glistening at the photograph he had opened.  
A radiant smile had settled on his face and he just couldn't get it off his face.  
He felt the heart thump, felt the heart pounding wildly against his chest, felt the heart making sure that this pleasant tingling feeling fluttered through his body – without a break, without giving him a rest.  
He felt the wild dance of the butterflies in his tummy very intensely, which were also responsible for the heat rushing through every vein, artery and cell.

His index finger briefly tapped the screen, which was shining brightly again. 

He felt comfortably warm, felt deeply relaxed, felt as if he was on top of the world, felt motivated and happy - happy with himself and the world; that was what he was feeling inside.

Dreamily, his eyes looked at the photograph; he sighed lovestruck.  
His eyes hardly blinked, not wanting to lose sight of this photograph and the person depicted in it for a second. 

He tapped the screen with his index finger.

The azure blue eyes shone and sparkled.  
The heart stopped for a moment, then beat violently and quickly in his body, making his ears roar.  
The lips still showed a breathtakingly happy smile.  
He felt goose bumps on his body, on his entire body - on his neck, on his arms, on his legs, on his back, on his tummy and chest.  
He shivered pleasantly. 

He put his right arm on the backrest of the large and cosy corner sofa, turning slightly to the side, changing his sitting position, but he didn't take his eyes off this enchanting photograph for even a nanosecond.  
He let his head sink slowly onto the backrest, laid his cheek onto it; his eyes were gazing at the smartphone. 

The screen was quickly tapped with his right index finger. 

His ears felt warm.  
His cheeks felt warm.  
Without seeing himself, he felt that his ears and cheeks were red.  
It didn't bother him; consciously, he didn't even notice it, he was just too busy adoring the photograph on his smartphone.  
He didn't hear the sounds from the telly either, it was as if the living room was dead silent. 

The bell of his door was ringing loudly.

Martin flinched heavily.  
He startled so much, that he even dropped the smartphone - it slumped on his thigh, then slid onto the sofa.  
He blinked, looked around with his eyes, irritated that it was ringing at his front door.

He picked up the phone again, wanted to ignore the ringing, but when he pressed the menu button to enter his code, the time appeared, reminding him that he had ordered something to eat three quarters of an hour ago.

He put the smartphone down on the sofa again, his feet carried him quickly to the door – the person was ringing again.

Had he just spent three quarters of an hour languishing at the same photograph?

Martin opened the door, looked at the young woman who looked like she was studying but earning some extra money by taking out deliveries.  
She smiled at him and put down the big backpack.  
"Good afternoon."  
"Hello." Martin smiled friendly.  
"I was beginning to think you aren’t home at all," she smiled and took his food out of the big warming backpack.  
"No, no. Sorry. I was just a bit distracted."  
"You wouldn't be the first one to order and not being home at all," she smiled. “The last one wasn’t home,… I still have his pizza. Tuna with extra cheese. You can have it if you want – for free of course. I’d need to throw it away.”  
"I'm way too excited about food to ignore the ringing of the delivery service," he smirked with her and took the various boxes. “Nah, thanks! I love tuna and cheese, but the stuff I ordered is enough. Well, we just pretend I took your offer – so, please enjoy my pizza yourself and have a little break,” he smiled.  
"Thank you. Now I can eat it without feeling guilty,” she smiled. “Enjoy your food, Mr. Freeman. You've already paid online. Bon Appetit," she smiled again, very friendly.  
"Thank you very much! Have a nice day."  
The young woman smiled and nodded, grabbed her backpack and made her way through the front yard.

Martin closed the door.

This morning, he had already had an incredible appetite for Indian food.  
Actually, he very rarely had food delivered to him, because he either cooked it himself or went out to eat in a restaurant when he didn't feel like cooking. But today, he had neither felt like cooking nor dressing up to go to the city and enjoy Indian food in a restaurant.  
He had simply wanted to stay home and lounge on the couch - and so he had ordered Indian food via a delivery app.

A main course.  
Several appetizers.  
The pizza would have been too much, but he was sure the young woman would enjoy it herself or sharing it with her co-workers.

He went into the kitchen with the delivery boxes, loaded a fork and a knife on the boxes and then walked through the passageway in the kitchen right into the living room. 

He placed the boxes on the coffee table as he himself sat down between the sofa and the coffee table; he leaned his back against the sofa and stretched his legs out under the big coffee table.  
His hand grabbed the smartphone lying on the sofa.

He chewed on his lower lip, unlocked the smartphone, and with it the photograph he had looked at in the last several minutes.  
He swallowed, rubbing his neck.

Had he really adored this photograph for the last forty-five minutes? 

It had to be the truth, after all he had scrolled through his photographs right after ordering his takeaway, just to open this very photograph immediately.  
But he hadn't been aware that this much time had passed while adoring it.  
The time, however, had bluntly told him that exactly forty-five minutes had passed between ordering and ringing, which meant that he had adored this photograph for exactly forty-five minutes.

He swallowed and opened one of the boxes containing an appetizer.  
He didn't know whether it was good that he had adored this photograph for the last three quarters of an hour, knowing that he had adored this and other photographs of this person constantly for the last few months.  
When he woke up in the morning, when he had to wait somewhere, when he was bored, when he played around with his smartphone in the evening, when he went to bed. 

Leila Victoria Chaplin.

She was the one in the photograph.  
A gobsmacking beautiful woman with long, soft and straight ginger hair.  
She had turquoise eyes; it was the perfect mixture of green and blue - and her pupil was often surrounded by a golden core.  
She had full lips, a soft face, a well-formed button nose and long eyelashes – and she didn’t look like a 48-years-old woman, not a little bit.  
Even calling her gobsmacking beautiful was a fucking and disrespectful understatement – a massive understatement.  
In the photograph, a selfie, she beamed into the camera, lounging here on his cosy couch in one of his Snoopy sweaters - the photograph had been taken back in April, when he hadn't been in London for a few days, and she had kindly taken care of his house, or rather of the plants and the garden.

Leila Victoria Chaplin.

She was the love of his youth.  
And not only that - he knew Leila since the 8th of September 1971; since he was born.  
He had grown up with Leila; they had grown up like twins and had seen each other literally every single day, because Leila had lived in the house across the street. There had hardly been a day when they had not seen each other, they had even been on holiday together along with their parents.  
They had always stuck to each other like a limpet - when they had been babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, and they still were stuck to each other like wax. And not only that, back then they often had a sleep over despite the close contact throughout the day.  
They had really done everything together and had been inseparable - that hadn't really changed; for almost 48 years now they were having an incredibly close, breathtaking and magical friendship.

With Leila, he hadn’t only let himself be fed; with Leila, he hadn’t only crawled through the house or the garden; with Leila, he hadn’t only run through the garden, had fallen and cried; with her, he had learned to ride a bicycle, had played on playgrounds and visited the kindergarten; with her, he had built hiding places and toys; with her, he had done a lot of cheeky pranks, had gone to preschool, had learned reading, writing and counting; with her, he had not only been in the swimming pool, had not only listened to music, chatted and laughed for hours, he had also camped in the garden with her, won snowball fights, built snowmen and annoyed his siblings; with her, he had grown older, with her, he had matured – and he had fallen in love with her when he had been sweet 14.  
And a few days after his 15th birthday, on the 17th of September 1986, they had exchanged their first ever kiss. 

Leila hadn’t only been his best friend; Leila had also been his very first girlfriend for many years - for four years.  
With Leila, he had exchanged his first ever kiss, the first intensive and intimate hugs, the first caresses; with her, he had attended concerts, theatre plays, had been to the cinema; she had often accompanied him to his theatre rehearsals and had supported him unconditionally from the first day on; with her, he had experienced his first sexual encounter and had enjoyed all further sexual encounters for four wonderful years; due to her, he had finally found enough courage and self-confidence to become an actor and to make his wish come true, but he hadn’t needed to give her more self-confidence and courage with authentic compliments to become an aircraft engineer, because since she had been six years old that wish had settled down in her head and tummy.  
His wish had come true and so had hers. 

After four lovely years, which could not have been more perfect, they had decided to break up with each other – for both of them it had felt like it wasn't the right time for them to be a couple.  
He had never regretted this decision and he also knew that Leila had never regretted this decision.  
There was just the right time for everything, and even so the relationship had been more than perfect, it had not felt like their perfect and right moment and time.

He had never regretted the decision - he still had a fantastic and magical friendship with her.

With her, he was still able to cuddle and snuggle, was going to concerts and other events; with her, he had been able to be very happy and euphoric about becoming a dad; with her, he had already enjoyed and gone through so many great and sad experiences in his life. 

He had never regretted the decision - but a few months ago, he had fallen head over heels in love with Leila all over again. 

He had always loved her as a friend, but he hadn't felt the romantic love in the last decades until this photograph, he had adored forty-five minutes, had appeared in their WhatsApp chat.  
Probably a romantic feeling had found its way into his heart a little bit before that photograph, but with one look at this photograph, he had immediately needed to admit to himself that he had fallen head over heels in love - again.

The love for her felt just as strong as it did back then - he was just as infatuated as his youthful teenage self had been a few decades ago. 

He didn't know if it was good to have fallen in love with her again, if it was good to have such a massive crush on her, if it was good to be all soppy on her and nuts about her and smitten by her.  
Gosh – he wasn’t just on cloud nine.  
He knew he could talk to her about everything, but he hadn’t dared to talk to her about this, yet – he wasn’t really afraid of losing her friendship due to that confession; he was afraid to confess his love to her just to realise that he had fallen hopelessly in love with her, because this time, she didn’t reciprocate his feelings.  
So now, he was constantly glorifying her selfies and questioning the break-up, just to feel deep in his heart and tummy that he still thought it had been the right decision, just to feel deep in his heart and tummy that he had massively fallen in love with that stunning, smashing, gorgeous and magnificent woman all over again - with everything he had.

Maybe now the right time had come for a ‘We and Us and Ours’.  
Maybe that’s why he had fallen in love again all of a sudden.  
Maybe she had fallen in love with him again, too.  
Maybe now was the right time for their love. 

Martin sighed, was eating while thinking and adoring the photograph on his smartphone. 

He had often been to Indian restaurants with her – a smile appeared on his face.  
She liked Indian food, she loved it, she was, you could say, addicted to it – but that didn’t say much because Leila actually ate everything that was within reach.  
He had to grin - you couldn't tell by looking at her that she was eating everything that was within reach.  
This woman could sit in front of the telly in the evening, eating a pizza, then a bar of chocolate paired with a bag of crisp, finally eating a whole 500ml pack of Ben's and Jerry's ice cream - and then she was neither feeling sick nor had gained weight.  
He hated her for it – a loving smile appeared on his face.

He liked her figure and shape; he liked her stature - she was as tall as he was and not too thin or too slender at all; she looked very natural and healthy.  
She was optically the absolute jackpot and he often wondered how the fuck HE had gotten such a hot and gorgeous gobsmacking girlfriend - he had asked himself that back then a lot of times, almost every single day.

His smartphone vibrated, announced a message – speaking of the devil, ... or thinking of him.  
With beaming eyes, he opened the text message.

_Pumpkin! I know it's Sunday, you little sloth-bear, but I'd love to have a Netflix evening with you – with takeaway and a delicious wine. :-*_

Martin smiled; his heart was beating faster - Pumpkin, her pet name for him, but they both couldn’t remember where it had its origin.

_**Hey Ginge! For you, Netflix, food and wine I can move my sloth-bear body even on a Sunday. ;-) :-*** _

Ginge was his pet name for her; where it originated was quite clear, it was still obvious when you saw her ginger hair.

_< 3 You are my hero.  
:-D  
Chinese and Sushi, 7pm at your place? I would fetch up our takeaway and would deliver our food, the wine and me, myself. How does that sound?_

_**Sounds like a perfect Sunday night ;-)  
Looking forward to it!** _

_Looking forward to it too!_

Not only her text message appeared, but also a GIF in which he recognised himself – he joyfully winked at himself.  
He laughed - whenever she sent a GIF, he was able to see himself in 90% of them; she had a GIF of him for probably every occasion, situation, reaction and text message he was sending.

His heart was beating faster when he thought about tonight, he couldn't wait to see her and spend time with her.  
And the good thing was that he didn't have to work tomorrow, and he knew that she was off duty tomorrow too.


	2. Eating on the Sly

_**\- Sunday, September/01 – 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin’s House -** _

For the second time today, Martin's doorbell rang.

For the second time the doorbell rang this Sunday, but this time the person in front of the door didn't have to ring a second time to get Martin's attention, because the door was opened joyfully shortly after the first ringing.

A great and hearty smile lay on Martin's face when he opened the front door and welcomed Leila who stood in front of him with a basket in her hand – she was beaming as much as his eyes and smile were sparkling. 

"Good evening, Mr. Freeman. Here are your Chinese noodles and spring rolls with vegetables, the sushi with tuna and asparagus, the mochi, the Merlot, and tonight you can even keep the delivery driver as an extra service of the house," Leila grinned with a pleasant feminine and very warm voice.  
Martin grinned but played along.  
"What do I owe you, Miss? I haven't paid yet."  
Leila smiled at him, looking deep into his azure blue eyes.  
"One hug and two kisses if you pay cash. One hug and one kiss if you pay by card - and if you want to leave a tip, you're welcome to do so."

She stepped inside, put down the basket, closed the door behind her - she was beaming at him and waiting for his payment.  
Martin smiled at her, bowed his head.  
"I'll pay cash."  
He winked charmingly.

His arms opened warmly; he wrapped them around her.  
He held her close, cuddled her, nursed her back and forth. A kiss was placed on her right cheek, another kiss was placed on her left cheek.  
Again, he nursed her back and forth, had his arms wrapped around her neck, hugged her very dearly and heartily - and it felt even more exciting with the intense love for her, just as exciting as back then when they had been young and very much in love with each other. 

"Can you change?" She asked.  
"No. I’m sorry but I can’t. I only have four more kisses in my wallet for a tip; I’ve got nothing smaller."  
"I'll take four kisses for a tip, Mr. Freeman."

Martin smiled, still hugging her.  
He kissed her right cheek again, kissed her left cheek again.  
The lips were gently placed on Leila's temple, kissing it.  
And then he pressed a firm kiss on her forehead and rubbed across her back.

"Hello Leila."

Leila smiled, put her arms around Martin and cuddled him just as warmly and intimately. She rubbed his back and patted the grey hair on the back of his head.  
Her lips gave Martin a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello Martin."

They took a step back, smiled at each other, grinned and smirked. 

"Good to see you," Martin smiled; his heart was in his mouth - why had it taken so long for his heart to fall in love with Leila again?  
"It's very nice to see you too," Leila beamed directly into Martin's eyes. "Come on, let's go to the living room, I've just picked up the food, it's still warm."

Martin nodded with a smile, bent down and took the basket in his hand while Leila slipped out of the sneakers and her jacket.  
He walked through the wide and spacious hallway with Leila, went into the cosy living room with her, where there were not only many photographs on the wall, but also countless books and records in shelves - and yet, he had more of each of these things in other rooms; in his house were much more photographs, in his house were much more books and in his house were also much more records – it was a bit like living in a modern but also retro/vintage-styled photo museum, book shop and record store; not to mention the walk-in wardrobe.

"You mustn’t ask me what I had for lunch today."  
"What did you have for lunch today?" Leila asked with a grin, her turquoise eyes with their golden glow sparkled cheekily.  
Martin grinned, loaded the food onto the coffee table, as well as the wine – he had already prepared chopsticks, Netflix, wine and water glasses.  
"I've already had takeaway for lunch today," he grinned.  
"Won’t make you look less sexy," she smiled with a soft wink and patted his tummy as she pushed herself past him. 

Leila sat down on the soft carpet, sat down between the sofa and the coffee table - her back leaning against the couch, her legs stretched out under the wide coffee table.  
Martin sat down with her on the soft carpet that lay on the wooden floor - in just the same way.  
Leila lifted her left leg slightly, much more wasn’t possible anyway because the coffee table was in her way, but it was just enough to put her left leg over Martin's right leg.

Their bodies did not only touch each other's legs; they sat so close together that Leila was literally leaning against Martin;… well, maybe Martin was the one leaning against Leila.

They looked as if they had come to an agreement earlier today, because they both wore sweatpants and a sweater.  
Leila's sweatpants were dark blue, her sweater light grey, the ginger hair was loosely tied in a bun.  
Martin's sweatpants were dark grey, his sweater was dark green, the grey hair looked a little tousled.  
They were both dressed very comfortable and the hair also said quite clearly that they didn't want to do anything today - and Leila had to admit that she liked it quite a lot when Martin's grey hair was slightly tousled.

They smiled at each other, didn't need many words right now, they knew even without exchanging many words that they wanted to have a chat and eat first before they would dedicate themselves to the Netflix evening.  
And so, they opened the various boxes and poured wine and water into their glasses.

Leila grabbed her chopsticks, chose vegetarian dumplings, fried rice with vegetables and sushi with salmon and avocado.  
"How was your day? Were you able to relax, or did you do something for work again," she asked with a smile, then loaded rice between her chopsticks.  
Martin smiled to her, liked the closeness to her very much, liked that she had put her leg over his, liked it very much that she was here with him.  
He took a vegetarian spring roll.  
"I slept in, then I took a nice leisurely shower, ate a little something, and then I just lay on the couch and let Netflix work for hours and hours," he said. "And you?" he asked with interest and attentive looking eyes - he bit into the spring roll with relish.  
"Actually, my day looked just like yours," she smiled. "But I didn't let Netflix work all day long, I just watched telly," she said, her chopsticks artlessly helped themselves with Martin's noodles. She shovelled the fried noodles with vegetables between her chopsticks. "I even fell asleep in between," she smiled and put the noodles in her mouth, before the chopsticks grabbed one of his sushi rolls – artlessly, without asking first, just free and easy.

Martin grinned to himself.  
He couldn't stand it; he hated it to death when you picked at his food while he was eating; he hated it to death when someone helped himself without asking first - he didn't like sharing his food at all.  
He hated it, could get quite grumpy - from zero to three-hundred-sixty in the blink of an eye.  
But with Leila it was different – with Leila it had always been different. 

\----------Flashback----------  
_\- Friday, June/21 - 1975, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Garden of the Freeman Family -_

Warmly, the sun shone down into the garden. 

Martin knelt in the sandbox with shorts and a T-shirt; a light breeze blew through his blond short hair. On his young face lay a joyful glow, because 3-year-old Martin was not alone in the sandbox - his best friend Leila from across the street was with him and was also kneeling next to him with shorts and a T-shirt; and a light breeze also blew through her long ginger hair. 

Until a few minutes ago they had been busy - playing in the sand, filling forms, building little towers.  
Figurines sat on the pile of sand, a digger and a tractor were standing in the sand, almost buried.  
But at the moment they were not busy playing, but busy with a little snack that Martin's mother had brought them. 

On Martin's plate were strawberries and small pieces of bread with cheese.  
On Leila's plate were red currants and small pieces of bread with butter and mild mustard.

The chatter of the young voices could be heard even while they were nibbling their snacks; it was a miracle that they had managed to nibble anything off the plate so far.

Leila reached out to Martin's plate, took a piece of bread with cheese and put it into her mouth without hesitation, although she still had enough pieces of bread on her plate.  
But Martin didn't get grumpy, didn't complain; he just bent over a little bit, knelt very close to her anyway, and gave her a sweet little kiss on the cheek.  
Leila smiled at him; her eyes were shining, her little fingers reached for Martin's plate again, grabbed a piece of bread again.

Blue eyes smiled sweetly and joyfully at Leila.  
Martin opened his mouth when Leila held the piece of bread in front of his mouth - he let himself be fed, chewed and now felt a kiss from his best friend on his cheek, too. 

Strawberries, currants and bread disappeared in their mouths - and Leila helped herself not only on her plate, but also on the snacks that were on Martin's plate.

The two pairs of children's eyes looked up when Martin's sister Laura came towards them and knelt down in front of them.  
"Hello, you two sweethearts," she smiled and reached for Martin's plate - the 13-year-old girl had just returned from swimming with her friends and was very hungry.  
Three-year-old Martin had grabbed his plate before his sister’s fingers had reached it.  
He grabbed the plate, turned quickly away from her - a strawberry rolled off the plate, landed in the sand.  
"That's mine!!!" he said grumpily and narrowed his blue puppy eyes to slits.  
Laura smiled.  
"Leila was just allowed to take something from your plate. Just one strawberry, sunshine. Please." She smiled at her little brother and ruffled softly through his blond hair.  
Martin shook his head while Leila took a strawberry from his plate and put it in her mouth.  
"No. You have to ask mummy. Only Leila can eat from my plate – you’re not Leila. So, you’re not allowed to eat from my plate."  
Laura tilted her head.  
"I can't even have a little strawberry, sweetie?" she tried it again.  
"You won't even get the tiniest crumb from me," Martin's young voice said.  
Laura stuck out her tongue.  
"You two should get married, little poison dwarf," she grinned and stuck out her tongue again.  
Three-year-old Martin looked at her and stuck his tongue out at her too.  
Laura grinned at him and Leila, gently ruffled through her little brother's hair again, then stood up, bent down, kissed his hair and made her way back through the garden, back to the house - Martin and his Leila, she smiled on the way back in.

Martin’s eyes followed his sister for a moment, then he turned to Leila again.  
He smiled sweetly at her, holding the plate invitingly to her.  
"Would you like some more?", he asked politely.

\----------End of Flashback----------

Nothing had changed in Leila's snacking and nibbling habit in all these years they knew each other.  
She still snacked and nibbled from his plate without asking, artlessly, just free and easy - and still Martin did not intervene or react angrily, grumpily or reprimanding. He let her do it; and so, she really was the only person allowed to do it. He even couldn’t stand it when his children were doing it, but fortunately they weren’t doing it anymore. 

During her chatting and eating, Leila had had her chopsticks in his fried noodles again and again, had fished his sushi rolls with her chopsticks again and again, and had also eaten her own tasty food.

Right now, they weren’t eating anymore.

They were still sitting on the floor, still leaning against the couch and stretching their legs out under the coffee table; they were still leaning against each other, and Leila's left leg was still lying across Martin's right leg.  
They had refilled their wine glasses, sesame mochis were still lying on the coffee table and Netflix was showing the 2nd season of the German series 'Dark' in the English dubbing. 

Leila had made herself a little more comfortable, had slid a little deeper, had put her head on Martin's shoulder.  
She had wrapped her left arm around Martin’s right arm, who had put his cheek on her head. 

Martin enjoyed the closeness to Leila; his heart was a wild beating muscle, his tummy a butterfly tingling mess; he felt incredibly comfortable, felt incredibly close to her and yet so far away.  
Cuddling with her felt good, having her here felt good - it felt like home and comfort and so much more.

Leila cuddled her cheek even more on Martin's shoulder, making herself very comfortable with him.  
"I'm feeling incredibly overeaten... " she murmured with her warm voice.  
"It's been a long time since I've heard that from you," Martin grinned and looked at the telly.  
"But it was quite tasty," she enthused.  
"And I'm not surprised that you're feeling overeaten - you didn't just eat your food, you ate a lot of mine as well," he grinned.  
"You'd probably renounce your faith if I would suddenly stop snacking your food," she smirked. "Well no,... you'd probably ask me grumpily and with lots of swearing words why for fucks sake I'm not fucking snacking and nibbling your fucking food," she grinned wildly.  
Martin laughed.  
"Both would probably happen. I would swear a fucking lot and renounce my faith."  
Leila grinned sweetly, turned to him a bit, rubbed her right hand across Martin’s tummy.  
"You see, Pumpkin," she grinned and kissed him on the cheek. 

\----------Flashback----------  
_\- Saturday, May/06 - 1989, Hampshire, Aldershot, Brookfield Road, House of the Maine Family -_

Gently, Leila breathed a kiss on Martin's cheek.  
The 17-year-old was sitting on a beer bench; her right leg was hanging over her boyfriend's left leg, her right arm hugged him.  
Together they were at a birthday party, sitting in the winter garden of the birthday boy’s family home - no parents at home tonight and the party was in full swing. 

Music could be heard, the beer benches were full, the beer tables full of drinks, hearty treats, sweets, desserts, cakes and snacks.  
It was already dark, but in the winter garden a diffuse pleasant light was burning and some candles on the table were flickering.  
The guests chatted, danced, sang along, laughed, were in a good mood and enjoyed the drinks, snacks and nibbles. 

Leila beamed to Martin who turned his head towards her - the young face was very soft and gentle, the blue eyes were shining and sparkling.  
Her free hand gently caressed through his soft blond hair, rested at the back of his head.  
Her lips were placed on Martin’s, kissing him softly and gently.  
Martin's hand on Leila's thigh caressed gently back and forth.  
His lips kissed her - lovingly and sweetly.  
The 17-year-old followed her and gently kissed her lips as she leaned back a little bit. 

He winked at her, making her turquoise eyes shine and beam.  
He rubbed her thigh again, rubbed to her knee while she was still halfway sitting on his lap. 

Martin turned his head back to his plate; only a few minutes ago he had refilled his plate again - Leila hadn’t wanted anything, but that didn't mean anything at all.  
The eyes flitted over his plate again; he was thinking about what he should eat next; the eyes noticed Leila's hand, which stole one of the scones from his plate.  
A grin appeared on his face.  
His eyes noticed a second hand, but it didn't belong to Leila and came from the other side of the plate.

The hand that wasn't caressing Leila's thigh hit the hand that was trying to steal a scone from his plate.  
"Take your hands off my plate, Paul!!!" He said grumpily, and smacked the hand of his best friend again, who was trying to nibble from his plate again. "Get your fucking hands off my fucking plate!!!" the blond-haired and tall boy named Paul pulled a face.  
"I'd be even happy with a little piece. Come on, there are no more scones. You took the last two."  
"They've been lying there untouched for hours! Now they're on my plate, so they're off limits to other fingers."  
"Leila was allowed to take one too, and you didn't smack her hand, or almost chop it off," Paul grinned at him with bright blue eyes.  
"Do you only notice now that Leila can help herself as she pleases?", Martin asked while Leila followed the conversation with a big grin. "Go steal somewhere else, you won't get anything from me", Martin grinned.  
"It's always the same with you," Paul grinned and freed himself from his sitting position.  
Martin just shrugged his shoulders – unimpressed. He turned back to Leila who was still enjoying the scone – and he even pushed his plate closer to Leila, smiling to his girlfriend.

Martin and his Leila – Paul thought with a grin when he walked around looking for a scone on another plate. 

\----------End of Flashback--------

Martin opened his mouth when Leila leaned back again, a sesame mochi in her hand. He had turned his head to her, looked at her expectantly with his mouth open, charm sparkled in his blue eyes. 

Leila smiled, led the sesame mochi to his mouth, fed it to him - she let him bite once.  
Sesame crumbled on his dark green sweater.  
She led the other half to her mouth, enclosed it with her lips, chewed with relish.  
Sesame crumbled on her light grey sweater.

Martin stretched his head a little towards her, pressed a kiss on her cheek after swallowing - he couldn't help it, or rather he just couldn't suppress it.  
But fortunately, these kisses were not rare or uncommon; they exchanged them constantly - so this kiss wouldn't surprise Leila at all.  
"Thanks..."  
Leila turned her head to him, swallowed, raised her right hand and lovingly ruffled through the soft grey tousled hair.  
"My pleasure," she smiled at him.

She had enjoyed the kiss very much.


	3. On the Couch

_**\- Monday, September/02 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

The hands of the large analogue clock in the living room showed that it was already 9.42 in the morning.  
They showed it to the two people who were no longer sitting in front of the couch but were now on the couch - but showing was probably not the right saying, because the two people on the couch couldn’t see anything at the moment.

The television was showing only a black display for hours now - it switched off in the middle of the night when it had been ignored for a certain time.  
The coffee table looked almost clean as a whistle, only the partly filled wine glasses and the empty wine bottle were still standing on it, but the food, or rather the empty boxes and cartons had been put away.  
The floor lamp next to the large comfortable sofa was still spending diffuse light, but it had no chance to make the room brighter, because the September sun was shining through the large windows facing the garden. 

Martin was sitting on the couch, leaning with his back against the backrest.  
He had laid his head on the backrest of the couch and had stretched out his legs; the sweatpants had slipped up a little on his right leg, revealing bare skin and body hair.  
The sun reached the bare feet, warmed them.  
Martin's eyes were closed; he breathed calmly and evenly, his chest also rose calmly and evenly; his mouth was slightly open, a very quiet, barely perceptible snoring could be heard. 

Leila was lying on the couch; she lay on her side, looking in the direction of the switched off telly.  
Her head lay comfortably on Martin's thigh, her cheek cuddled comfortably on it.  
Her legs were slightly tucked up; her arm was covered by Martin's arm, which held her tightly and close, his fingers intertwined with hers - Leila pressed both hands against her décolleté.  
The sun reached her body, warming it even without a blanket.  
Leila's eyes were closed, she breathed very calmly and evenly, and her chest also rose very calmly and evenly. 

When the mochis had disappeared in their tummies, they had cleared away all the boxes and cartons - and then they had sat down onto the couch.  
In a flash, Leila had laid down on the couch and cuddled her head, respectively her cheek on Martin's thigh, watching telly with him.  
For quite a while Martin's arm had not been on hers, but at some point he had put his arm around her, at some point their fingers had found each other, at some point Leila had put their hands on her décolleté.

It wasn't the first time they cuddled like this, but they hadn't fallen asleep during this kind of cuddling for a long time.  
They hadn’t only exchanged this kind of cuddling during their relationship, they also exchanged this kind of cuddling during their friendship - it was just not romantically intimate anymore. 

Martins squeezed his eyes together, had drifted from deep sleep to the edge of being awake.  
He felt the pain in his back; he felt the pain in his neck.  
He squeezed his eyes together again, drifted from the edge of being awake to a sleepy awake state.  
Martin slowly lifted his head, kept his eyes closed, but moved his head to the right and the left - his neck creaked.  
Again, he squeezed his eyes together, then slowly opened them.  
His neck still hurt.

He closed his eyes slightly, as he was blinded by the sun, but he left them open wide enough to look around.  
His eyes looked across the room - looking at the clock, looking at the telly, looking at the coffee table and then at the lamp next to the couch.  
He raised his free arm, his index finger switching off the pointless diffuse light.

Martin yawned, rubbed his free hand over his eyes, let his hand run through his grey hair, let his hand rub over his aching neck.

He felt the tiredness.  
He felt the aching neck.  
He felt the aching back.  
He felt Leila's fingers, her hand, her décolleté.  
He felt Leila's head on his thigh.  
He felt Leila's warmth, or rather the warmth that she caused in him.  
He felt his heart race wildly.  
He felt his stomach tingle amorously.

It was impossible for him to say how many times they had cuddled with each other since breaking up, but right now this cuddling with Leila caused heart palpitations and a tingling tummy again after it had disappeared for about twenty-eight years and a few months.  
Actually, not only this cuddling caused heart palpitations and butterflies in his tummy since April, but also every hug, every kiss, every little touch, every voice message, every phone call, every text message, every selfie, actually everything imaginable that had to do with Leila in one way or another.

It was just enough to think of her.  
It was just enough to hear or read her name somewhere.  
It was just enough to walk past a photograph of them in the house.  
Enough to see something that Leila had given him.  
Enough to hear a record that he associated with her.  
It was enough to discover some of his films on the telly programme where she had visited him on set.  
The smallest thing was enough to make his tummy tingle and his heart race. 

His eyes watched Leila.  
His heart raced hard against his chest; the butterflies went crazy.  
There was hardly anything more beautiful than waking up and seeing and feeling her – the only thing that was more beautiful was waking up and seeing and feeling her and his kids.

Leila sighed as she drifted from a deep sleep to the edge of being awake.  
She smiled when she felt that special pillow beneath her cheek.  
She cuddled her cheek even more on her comfortable pillow as she drifted from the edge of being awake to a sleepy awake state.  
Leila yawned, sighed again. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes, yawned again, sighed again. 

In front of her eyes, Martin's legs were stretched out, she could also see his bare feet in the sun.  
They had apparently fallen asleep. 

She had already felt the tiredness when she had laid down on the couch with Martin - she had felt a light tiredness from the cosiness, the delicious food, the wine and the diffuse soft light.  
But she hadn't felt that she had become more and more tired, or she couldn't remember that she had become more and more tired. 

She could still remember that Martin had put his arm around her at some point; could also remember that their fingers had found each other; could also remember that she had put their hands on her décolleté - and she could also remember that Martin had told her that he would be very happy about her visit. 

She smiled even more.  
She was also very happy that she had been allowed to come over.  
She had loved the evening, she had enjoyed the food and wine, as well as the snacking and watching telly - and the cuddling, of course.  
The smile on her face was huge and bright.

She had slept well, quite well – extremely good to be honest.

Her eyes flitted through the living room, flitted over Martin's bare feet, flitted over the sweatpants and the naked skin of his right ankle and shin bone.  
She yawned again, cuddling her cheek a little more on Martin's thigh.  
She could feel that Martin was awake too, but she didn't want to turn around or sit up yet.  
It was just nice to slowly become more awake, to enjoy the closeness to her best friend of her childhood and to embrace the silence.

Relaxing was very easy with him.  
Enjoying peace and silence with him was very easy too.

She got the feeling that he watched her, that he looked at her, that he smiled at her.  
Slowly she turned on her back.  
And indeed, he looked at her with a charming, gorgeous and slightly sleepy smile.

"Good morning, Pumpkin," Leila smiled, her turquoise eyes beaming at him.  
"Morning, Ginge," Martin smiled, the ocean blue eyes beamed down at her.

Their hands were still on Leila's décolleté.  
Martin's arm had slipped slightly between her breasts.  
But none of them made any effort to change their current cuddling position.

"I guess we fell asleep," Leila smiled.  
"Obviously," Martin winked. "I hope I've done a good job as a pillow."  
"You’ve done an excellent job! I have absolutely no complaints. You're a great pillow – nowadays and back then," she winked. "How was your night? You look a little tired."  
"My sleeping position was quite uncomfortable. It was comfortable while watching telly, but this sitting position is rather uncomfortable in the long run. My neck hurts and my back hurts too," he said honestly, but he also smiled. "But it's nice to hear that you slept well." 

The fingertips of his free hand gently caressed the ginger hair off Leila's face.  
The index finger nudged her nose, the left eye winked charmingly, the lips smiled radiantly. 

Leila smiled up, liked his gentle gestures, liked the wink and the beaming smile.  
Even so she wasn’t ready to leave this comfortable position, Leila slowly sat up anyway, because she wanted to spare Martin further pain after he had spent the whole night just like this. 

She slowly sat up, let her hand slip out of his hand, turned around and knelt down on the sofa.  
She smiled at Martin, bent down to him.  
She pressed a kiss on his warm cheek, unaware that she was sending lots of happy feelings through Martin's body. 

"Good morning again, Martin!" she murmured very close to his cheek. "Thanks for that great evening!”

Martin tried to calm down his heart and the tingling in his veins and tummy - it felt just fantastic to be kissed by her; it already had felt amazing back then.  
God, he had loved to be kissed by her - no matter where he had been kissed by her.  
But he had especially enjoyed the kisses on his lips, as well as the joyful and cute kisses on his cheek, or the sweet kisses on his nose.  
He had enjoyed being hopelessly romantic and in love with her - enjoying kisses and snogging, cuddles and snuggles, caresses and soft touches, holding hands, languishing and the lovestruck eye contact.  
He had enjoyed feeling the fast heartbeat and the tingling and butterflies filled tummy - to be honest, he hadn’t felt it that intensely ever again.  
Now he felt this highly intensive tingle and heartbeat again.  
Now that he was in love with Leila as hopelessly romantic as he had been back then.

Thirty minutes had passed since her kiss on his cheek.  
Thirty minutes had passed, a kiss for Leila, a second good morning for Leila, a getting up, a warm hug, a hot shower for Leila, a hot shower for Martin.

Martin had showered in the en-suite bathroom of his bedroom, Leila had showered in the bathroom on the ground floor, but had walked up the stairs afterwards and had helped herself without asking and just free and easy in Martin's walk-in wardrobe - a fresh white T-shirt from Martin.

Leila walked down the stairs again, walked through the hallway and into the spacious, light-flooded kitchen.  
Martin showed her his back - his grey hair was also still slightly damp, he too was now wearing a T-shirt, and seemed busy preparing tea. 

Breakfast had already been served on the large round wooden table - very lovingly, well-balanced and just nothing was missing.

Leila smiled to Martin, who moved his shoulders in circles, who moved his head in circles, who massaged his shoulder with one hand.  
She tilted her head, walked to him. 

She laid her hands onto Martin's shoulders as his hand went through his grey hair.  
He flinched for a second.  
Her hands massaged his shoulders, her thumbs massaged his neck.

"What are you doing?", he asked unnecessarily.  
"Massaging my pillow, I've crumpled it quite a lot during the night," she murmured right behind him. 

Martin closed his eyes, smiled.

"That's sweet of you. Thank you," he muttered and let his head hang down.  
"My pleasure," Leila breathed.

Her hands and thumbs massaged him skilfully, massaged the shoulder and neck muscles for a few moments.  
Her hands rubbed down his back.  
Her fingernails scratched up his back again, scratched across his shoulder blades and shoulders, crawling across his neck.

Martin bit his lower lip, clenched his hands into fists.  
He felt the massive goose bumps, suppressed the pleasant shiver. 

Leila's fingernails scratched across his back again.  
Her fingernails scratched and crawled the entire back, every little spot.  
Her hands rubbed across his back, allowing him a short break, saving him from purring like a cat.  
The heels of her hands massaged and kneaded his back.  
Her fingernails, her hands, her heels of her hands took the pain away.

Martin licked his lips.  
He felt her scratching, her crawling, her rubbing and massaging.  
The goose bumps had crept from his back all over his body.  
He felt the crawling fingers on his shoulder blades, felt them on his shoulders, suddenly felt them on his neck.  
The fingernails suddenly scratched quite gently across his neck and into his hair - she knew for a fact that this turned him on quite a lot, that this didn’t just turn him on massively, but also made him melt away under her fingers becoming all soft, smoochy and cuddly.  
He lost the fight, had to shiver pleasantly. 

Leila smiled; her fingertips crawled out of his hair and over his neck; she wrapped her arms around his chest, cuddled him and pressed a kiss on his cheek before snuggling her cheek against his.

"The breakfast table looks fantastic," she muttered as he shivered pleasantly once more because of the fingertips, the cuddling, the kiss and the snuggling cheek.


	4. Heart Throb

_**\- Thursday, September/5 - 2019, London, City of Westminster, Bayswater, Queen's Gardens, Leila's Apartment -** _

** Leila's POV **

Warmth rushed through my body.  
A tingling sensation rushed through my body.  
My heart leapt into my throat.  
The butterflies were very busy.  
My head, my heart, my tummy, my whole body felt happy. 

I looked at a selfie that Martin had just sent me.

Martin - I had met him on September the 8, 1971; only a few hours after he had been born.  
And as soon as he and Philomena had been released from the hospital, we had seen each other almost every day. 

Either my mother and I had visited Philomena and Martin, or Philomena and Martin had visited us.  
We had lain next to each other, had been fed and nursed, had turned around for the first time, had crawled and walked for the first time - together.  
They had bathed us and changed our nappies, had let us sleep in the same crib after lunch.  
According to our parents we had felt very comfortable with each other - and according to them we had slept very deep and well when the other one had been present.  
There were some photographs of us from that time, and even if I couldn’t remember it myself, the photographs radiated a deep connection and warmth. These photographs reflected that we had been very happy and satisfied with the other little human being. 

The contact had been very close and intensive, because my parents and Martin's parents had become friends very quickly when my parents had moved into the house across the street. The friendship had grown fast and quick - so much that they even went on holiday together.  
And I could still hear my mother and Philomena saying that they had been very happy when they had gotten pregnant almost at the same time.  
There wasn't much time between my birthday and Martin’s.  
While I was born on 09.08.1971, Martin was born on 08.09.1971 – transposed numbers, which seemed quite cosy, funny, but also scary, considering how close we were as friends.  
The joy of being pregnant at almost the same time, hadn’t just been used to enjoy the time of their pregnancy even more intensively; they had also used the chance to spend even more time with each other after our births – that’s why I’ve seen Martin almost every day.

We had been taken care of in the same kindergarten.  
We had spent these days with playing, eating and sleeping; and on our way home we had walked alongside our mothers – but mostly, we had been running, chasing each other, playing funny walking games; the way back home had always been full of surprises, full of adventurous and fun. And yet, even after the day in the kindergarten, we still hadn't had enough of each other. Even after kindergarten we had played with each other, got up to nonsense, got into mischief, looked at picture books, listened to stories - sometimes we even had sleep overs, or had at least dinner with the other one.  
We had been inseparable, even though we had had other friends in the kindergarten.  
According to our parents, there had often been a lot of drama when one of us had to go to the kindergarten while the other one had stayed home sick.  
During our kindergarten-time we had been on our first holiday and we had met on the street to wish each other a good night, when we hadn’t been able to see each other throughout the day.

Martin and I had visited the same Primary School in Aldershot.  
New friends had joined us – some of them we had shared, some of them were only my friends or only Martin’s friends.  
Nevertheless, we had always sat next to each other in the classroom.  
With Martin, I’ve learned to read - and then we had often read to each other at home.  
And even back then I had loved to listen to his voice - sometimes he had made up stories, either out of the blue or because he had stalled while reading aloud and instead of reading the written words he had made up his own.  
His stories had been excellent, and still were just absolutely brilliant – I’ve heard quite a few when he had told these stories to Joe and Gracie; he was a brilliant and excellent storyteller. 

A year before we had to change the school, luck had been on our side - the Salesian School in Chertsey, which Martin had been supposed to attend, had been converted into a school for boys and girls in 1981.  
And of course, I had begged my parents to send me to the Salesian School in Chertsey, too - my prayers had been answered.  
School with Martin had been fun - he had never wanted to go to school and had only done 10 percent of his homework during his entire school career, and of these 10 percent I’ve probably done half of it for him. It still made me laugh and grin today. Martin had only liked going to school to spend time with me and other friends, to play squash and later theatre - and yet, through his love for books, Martin was very smart and intelligent, and had been a good student.  
I had loved to go to school - and while I had known by the age of 6 that I want to become an aerospace engineer, Martin had needed a long time to know that he wanted to become an actor; but at the age of 19, he had finally had enough courage and self-confidence to make this wish come true.

The teenage years with Martin had been wonderful - still inseparable, we had matured and grown up.  
During our teenage years I had suddenly fallen in love with my best friend.  
How could I have stopped my heart from doing so?  
He had been such a sweetheart, quite funny and cheeky, an incredibly good listener. He had always taken care of me, had been able to comfort me, to cheer me up, to make me laugh with a snap of his fingers. He had made every single wish of me come true.  
He had just been perfect - and on top of that his big heart had been at the right place; not to mention that he had been a pretty sweet, cute and handsome boy. 

My heart was pounding hard against my ribcage. 

Martin had been the first person to make my heart skip a beat, to make my tummy tingle, to make my knees weak.  
With Martin, I had shared the first kiss.  
Martin had been my first boyfriend.  
With Martin, I had lost my virginity.  
With Martin, I had experienced so many other beautiful things. 

My tummy was tingling.

It had been a great time - just heavenly and perfect, and yet it had felt like it wasn’t the right time to be a couple.  
I have never regretted the decision of the break-up - it had been the right thing to do back then and our friendship hadn’t suffered a tiny bit. 

He had been amazing - an amazing first boyfriend.  
Back then, I had hoped that he would not only be my first boyfriend, but also my last.  
It had been a wonderful relationship and a mutually agreed break up.  
28 years, 4 weeks and 8 days had passed - and then I had fallen in love with him again.  
We had split up on the 24th of February 1991.  
I had fallen in love with him again on the 1st of April 2019 – after his disgusting April Fool’s joke.  
He had been a great first boyfriend - a great first boyfriend and hopefully he was also the very last wonderful boyfriend.

I eagerly hoped for a comeback of our love.  
I was hoping for it since he had pranked me several times with his disgusting jokes on April Fool’s Day.

This nasty little scoundrel had filled mayonnaise into the bottle of my hair conditioner the night before, when we had met for a lovely dinner date at my place - I only noticed it when the mayonnaise had already been spread in my hair.  
We had been appointed for breakfast at a lovely café and he had made sure that instead of some milk for tea I had been given some mayonnaise in the little milk jug pot - of course, I hadn't used it.  
For lunch, I had cooked myself some noodles, and since the little rascal knew that I sometimes just loved to eat noodles with ketchup, he had refilled the bottle of ketchup with mayonnaise, probably during our lovely dinner date - I had noticed it after the first strong squeeze.  
In the afternoon we had been appointment at his place, and in my delicious apple puff pastry, baked by him, hadn’t just been apples and pudding but also mayonnaise.  
Unfortunately, I hadn’t expected more after these cheeky apple puff pastries – but the vanilla sauce topping on my ice cream, I have wanted to enjoy after having dinner with Martin, had turned out to be a mixture of mayonnaise and water – Martin had choked on his own ice cream due to his mischievous and malicious laugh.  
And when I was back home again, assuming that I would just put some balancing cream on my face before going to bed, I discovered that the cream was mayonnaise, too.

I hated mayonnaise, he loved it. 

It made me smile - I didn't know why, of all days, I had fallen head over heels in love with him again on April Fool’s day, but I was absolutely sure that I’ve fallen in love with this cheeky rascal, who had prepared and executed that prank brilliantly, on exactly that day.

Ever since his disgusting mayonnaise prank, I was hoping for a love comeback.  
Ever since his disgusting mayonnaise prank, the butterflies in my tummy were dancing as soon as I thought of him, as soon as even a little thing reminded me of him.

He had become a fantastic and loveable man, who had a lot of charisma and was incredibly attractive – and I wasn’t just talking about his look but also about his personality. 

His personality hadn't really changed much in the last years and decades, but the outrageously sweet boy had become a man who was outrageously sexy, attractive, hot, sweet and cute.

I stared at the selfie Martin had just sent me.

My eyes were shining at a selfie that showed Martin in his bed - he had already snuggled up in bed; parts of the dark t-shirt were visible; the grey hair looked as if he had been in the shower recently and had caressed through it several times since; his blue eyes were shining, the smile beamed from one ear to the other. 

It had all started with me not waking up in the morning – I had overslept.  
I had been rushing to the airport, since I worked for British Airways, like a maniac while I had asked him via voicemail if he could sweeten my day after this unpleasant morning.  
He had sweetened my day – more than that!

The first selfie had showed up during my breakfast break - he had been sitting comfortably at home; a Nutella toast in his hand, Nutella at the corner of his mouth, his hair still tousled, his eyes bright, his smile very charming.  
The second selfie had showed up during lunchtime - he had been sitting at his dining table again; a salad bowl in front of him, the fork in his mouth, his eyes closed with relish.  
The third selfie had showed up in the afternoon - he had been relaxing on the couch like a cute sloth-bear, a cup of tea in his hand, winking with a bright smile.  
The fourth selfie had showed up at dinner time - he had been sitting at his dining table again; in front of him a deliciously looking pasta, but by no means as delicious as the man who had beamed just absolutely cute and handsome into the camera.  
The fifth selfie had showed up a little later - he had lounged comfortably on the couch again, showing a charming and sweet, innocent but radiant smile.  
I had just received the sixth selfie – couldn’t stop looking at it, even so every single selfie was just too cute to stop looking at it.

He had definitely sweetened my day with all these selfies, which had become even cuter and sweeter with the messages he had sent along the selfies.

_**1\. Good morning, Ginge! Sweetie eats sweets ;-)  
2\. Hey Leila, I hope you had a nice day so far, enjoy your lunch! I’m thinking of you. :-)  
3\. If you don't have time for a delicious cup of tea, your sloth-bear would be happy to drink another one for you.  
4\. Next time I will come by with the pasta and share it with you. :-) I hope your working day was pleasant despite oversleeping.  
5\. ... when I bring you the pasta next time, I can sweeten your evening live on your couch ;-)  
6\. Good night, Leila! :-) :-* <3** _

Again, a message showed up - it was a little video.  
And this video made my heart skip a few beats again; this video made my heart throb; this video made my tummy tingle and my knees weak.  
This video made the wish for a comeback of our love grow even bigger. 

In the video Martin beamed at me from his bed.  
He air-kissed me, winked charmingly and flirted as he spoke to me:  
"Love you lots" - the voice in the video was warm and nasal.

I swallowed, watched the video again and again and again. 

How, for the love of God, had my heart actually been able to survive without this man for such a long time?  
It really was about time that my heart was throbbing again, throbbing because of my childhood friend, throbbing because of my first love and boyfriend, throbbing because of that gorgeous grey-haired man and the love of my youth.


	5. A Secret Revealing Question

_**\- Friday, September/06 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Music was playing in the kitchen - pop, soul, jazz, rock, rap; there was a bit of everything.

Dinner time was over for some time now – and instead of pasta, salad and vegetables, something else stood on the big wooden dining table in the kitchen, something the three people at the table also liked quite a lot - gummy bears, chocolate, crisps and coca cola.  
But the table wasn’t only set with gummy bears, chocolate, crisps and coca cola, there was also a Monopoly board lying out flat.

Every one of them had bought some streets already, but there were still some that hadn’t been sold yet.  
All the money and the title deed they owned were lying in front of them, but not a single figure on the board was an original Monopoly figure.  
Throughout the years, one figure after the other had disappeared - Martin had already looked for them, but the figures must have fallen into a black hole; or maybe they had simply vanished into thin air.  
Since no original figure was available, they were playing with Lego figures.

Gracie's Loki was in prison; how fitting.  
Joe's Iron Man was on the start field; he had just collected some money.  
Martin's Hobbit was on a Community Chest field - he had just paid school fees; how fitting. 

Martin rolled the dices again - he had rolled doubles.

"When did you actually have your first girlfriend, Dad?" Joe asked completely out of the blue, when Martin's dice showed two exact same numbers - the third double.

Gracie put the little Hobbit on the Prison field; she grinned, then looked very interested at her daddy.  
Martin looked at his little Hobbit, pulled a face – that wasn’t good. 

"How the fucking hell did you just come up with this question?" Martin asked with a swearing word, but his kids were used to it by now, anyway.

Joe looked at the little Hobbit joining Loki in prison – he grinned nastily; fantastic, his dad wouldn’t get any money now.  
"I don’t know. Maybe because Gracie is an annoying infatuated little tease since a few weeks," Joe shrugged his shoulders.  
"I'm not in love with him!!!," Gracie defended herself – speaking of a close friend of Joe's. "I just said he’s cute."  
"Yeeeeeeessss, about a million times after he had a sleep over a few weeks ago."  
"You better shut up, you're the one bothering mum and me with that girl from your drama class. You’re talking of her for hours every time we have dinner! You’re the one who’s in love, so better shut up, you big tease!” She said and impersonated him. “She’s so cute and pretty. And she’s always very nice and kind to me,… and she just said….,and she wore… ,and she made a joke about… ”  
"So, when did you have your first girlfriend, Dad?" Joe rather distracted his dad and Gracie - the little annoying tease had checkmated him.

Martin grinned at his kids, hadn’t known anything about that girl, yet – but he wouldn’t force his son to open up about it; if Joe wanted to talk to him about this girl, he was sure his son would just talk to him and ask for his advice.  
He bowed his head, stopped the game.  
Apparently, his love life was more interesting than Monopoly right now.

"When I was 15,... a few days earlier I had just turned 15."

"Then you'll still have to wait a little more than a year," Gracie grinned nastily at Joe.  
"And you still have to wait for three and a half years." Joe’s grin was mean, but he turned his head back to Martin, suddenly smiled with interested and attentive eyes. "And where did you meet her?"

Martin grinned back and forth between the two of them; he liked this kind of teasing since he didn't have to admonish them during this kind of teasing - he could just have a good laugh with them.  
He bowed his head and smiled at Joe and Gracie.

"In the hospital."  
"In the hospital?" Gracie asked nosily. "How can you meet someone in a hospital?"  
"She visited me. Well, she had to visit me," he smiled. "Leila was my first girlfriend."

They knew that their dad had met his best friend almost immediately after his birth; they also knew that Leila's parents had been very close friends with their grandparents and that they still were very close friends to their grandparents – they even know Thomas and Victoria quite well.  
They also knew that their dad and Leila had done everything together, that they had been almost inseparable, that not much had changed since their childhood and teenage years – they still were inseparable.  
They knew Leila.  
Of course, they knew Leila - they had known her all their lives, had practically grown up with her as her daddy's best friend; they knew Leila incredibly well and they were as keen as mustard with their daddy's best friend.  
Many times, they had gone on trips with Leila – just with her, just the three of them. Many times, Leila had taken care of them; many times, they had had a sleep over at Leila’s place.  
They were more than just on fire with her - and were always very happy to go on a trip with her, to visit her, to be looked after by her or to spend a night at her place.  
But that Leila and her dad had once been a couple, that was new - nobody had told them that before.

Joe and Gracie stared at him, stunned, speechless, amazed - mouths open, eyes wide open.  
They basically gaped at him. 

"WHAT?!" Joe said after a nearly five-minute stunned silence. "You and Leila were a couple?"

Martin nodded with a smile, almost had to laugh about the stunned faces of his children.  
"Yes, we were," he confirmed.  
"How come you never told us?! Why has no one ever told us?!" It didn’t sound like a question, it sounded more like a stern admonition.  
"Can't I have secrets?" Martin smirked.  
Gracie looked at him in awe.  
"No!" she said quick like a shot.  
Martin laughed in amusement.

"You never asked me about it; you never asked mum about it, neither Leila or the others. There was never a reason to tell you about it just out of the blue, or to tell you old romantic stories about us," Martin shrugged his shoulders.  
"But you could have said something while telling us these great anecdotes! Leila is your best friend! We grew up with her! You could have told us,… no, it would have been your obligation!" Gracie complained.  
Martin laughed with amusement.  
"Sweetie, take it easy – you’re now up to date."  
Gracie looked unhappy.  
"Well, now! After you've been hiding it for ages."

Joe looked curiously at his father, cut off his sister.

"Now I want to know more. How long have you been a couple?"  
Martin turned his head back to Joe and felt as if he was being questioned by the police, because his two children were staring at him intensely as if they didn't want to miss a single movement, word or gesture.  
He tilted his head, smiled at his son.  
"Four years. We were a couple for four years, well almost four and a half years."  
"That's quite a long time," Joe smiled. “Why did you split up?"  
"Well,... it was a very lovely time. Absolutely perfect, actually. But we were young, and it was our first relationship ever, so you can get scared of your own very perfect relationship. If it would have been only that, I'm sure we'd still be a couple. But after these four and a half years we had the feeling that it was not the right time for us to be more than friends. It just didn't feel right being a couple, so we broke up with each other."

Joe and Gracie looked at him in astonishment.

"Excuse me?" Gracie asked with irritation and looked at her daddy uncomprehendingly. "That's a very weird reason to break up. You loved each other a lot and it was perfect,... I don’t get it…"  
"Neither of us has ever regretted it, sweetheart," Martin smiled. "I'm sure if we wouldn’t have split up, we wouldn’t be a couple anymore, anyway – maybe not even best friends anymore. It just felt wrong, it wasn’t the perfect time - it didn't feel like our time."

Joe looked at Martin - he understood what his dad wanted to say, even if it was hard to understand it completely, after all he had never had a girlfriend; but he knew the feeling when something didn't feel right.  
He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Maybe the right time will come. You're single and Leila's a gobsmacking jackpot! You just have to fall in love with her again.”  
"Daddy's totally in love with Leila, anyway," Gracie grinned with wiggling eyebrows.

Martin blinked, glanced back and forth between his two kids - didn't know what to say, didn't know what to answer; he got his wires crossed and was more than speechless that the two had just hit the bull's eye.  
It made his heart race even faster, made his tummy tingle even more, simply left him completely speechless - and with that he betrayed himself.

Gracie grinned even more.  
"I'm right! Oh. My. God. I. Am. Right." She said triumphantly. "It was just a guess, actually, but I know you, Daddy. You would already have said something if I were wrong. You’re speechless because we hit the bull’s eye – you fell in love with Leila again, and you feel uncomfortable because I just said it out loud," she smirked. "You're a great and talented actor, the best for me, but privately you're a total failure at lying and an open book for me," the 11-year-old babbled.  
Joe grinned to his dad, was thrilled by Gracie's trap and babble.  
"And how does it feel to be in love with Leila again?" He asked.  
Joe and Gracie looked at him curiously, blindly helping themselves - grabbing gummy bears and chocolate.

"Children are a fucking huge pain in the ass," he muttered rather to himself - but his children had heard it and they laughed. 

Gracie grinned curiously and probing.  
"So, you're in love again."  
"Yes," Martin growled.  
Joe and Gracie's eyes lit up.  
"That's wonderful!" Gracie rejoiced.  
"You have to tell her, Dad!" Joe rejoiced.  
"That's right! But first you have to be even more charming and cute than you usually are to win her heart and make her fall in love with you all over again, too,” Gracie added.  
And once again they helped themselves – grabbing gummy bears and chocolate.

"You two are still a pain in the ass... "

Gracie laughed with Joe.

Martin rubbed his neck, pointed at the game.  
"Shall we keep playing?" He asked, trying to distract them, because he was actually desperately hoping to make Leila fall in love with him all over again - his heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage, his tummy was tingling madly.

But would he really be that lucky?  
Would he be lucky enough that a woman like Leila would fall in love with HIM of all people?  
Leila would already have hit him gently on the back of his head and told him that he should believe a bit more in himself - he wasn't very good at it, he rather covered up his own insecurities with cheeky comments that seemed to be self-confident.  
He really had no idea how he had managed to make Leila his girlfriend - he was thinking too much, was quite impatient, a perfectionist, was swearing too often, was stubborn, reacted a bit too furiously at times, and he wasn't particularly convinced of his appearance.  
He could literally feel Leila's gentle smack on the back of his head; could literally see her lovely and radiant smile; could literally hear her voice telling him in several minutes of warm chatter what she loved about him, telling him in several minutes of warm chatter what she thought was sweet and attractive about him.  
Hopefully, he would be fucking lucky again; he wanted to have her back - the longing for her grew steadily and was almost unbearable.

Gracie smiled sweetly.  
"You’re in prison. Now we make the rules. We're not playing."  
"You are in prison yourself, Gracie!" Martin said.  
"But I'm not in prison," Joe grinned.  
"Since when are you taking Gracie's side and stabbing me in the back?" Martin asked in vain.  
"Since you long for enchanting your childhood sweetheart all over again," Joe winked at his dad as charmingly as Martin always winked.  
Joe took the dice, held them without rolling them.

Martin played with little Bilbo; he just had no chance against his children right now - he moved the little hobbit's arms.  
"Why do we have to talk about this now of all times?" He asked, but no one answered him.  
His heart was beating far too fast, his belly was tingling far too much.  
He longed for a love comeback with Leila.

Joe smiled to Martin, didn't answer the question since the answer should be very clear - curiosity was the answer, as well as the desire to know that his beloved dad was in a loving relationship with someone who would look after him, with someone who would take care of him.

"I'm very sorry, it wasn't the right time for you guys back then. Leila just has to be THE ONE,… honestly, there can't be a better one. You two are just amazing with each other." Joe said with a smile. "I mean, a few minutes ago, I didn’t know you two have been a couple,… but now,… now, I have to say that Leila is actually a much better match for you than Jeanne or mum. She’s a perfect match. I’m so sorry it wasn’t meant to be back then. Well, Gracie and I wouldn't exist if you and Leila would have never broken up with each other, but nevertheless, I’m so sorry you had to give up that loving relationship and her. It would make me very happy if she would fall in love with you again, too. Leila would be the best stepmum ever," he beamed. "You really need to get her back, Dad! She's perfect for you."  
Gracie beamed at Martin, nodded and agreed with her brother.  
"It's so sweet that you're in love with Leila again," she said with a dreaming voice. "You must have been a really cute couple back then. You already looked pretty cute in your old photographs. It's really sweet that you were a couple and that she was your first girlfriend," she looked at him with adoring eyes. "I'm sure you'd be just as sweet and cute with each other as you were back then.”

Martin sighed - why had his son asked him this one question of all the questions he could have asked him.

"Not everything is always cute and sweet, Gracie," he said.  
He had to admit that it was quite cute and lovely that these two were on fire for this comeback with Leila – as much as he was.  
He had to admit that he was quite touched by his son’s words.  
And he had to admit that Joe was right about Jeanne and Amanda.  
His daughter smiled at him, looked at him with blue dreamy eyes, air-kissed him.  
"With you everything is always cute and sweet,… and adorable!" His daughter grinned at him with a dreamy and adoring young voice.

She made her dad smile.

A love comeback with Leila would be fantastic.  
There was no wish that was bigger than this love comeback with Leila.  
He had fallen head over heels in love with her again.  
And he had the feeling that now their time had come – he just needed to make this gorgeous woman fell in love with him again, too.


	6. Aiplanes in September

_**\- Sunday, September/08 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

This year, he hadn’t celebrated into his birthday.  
This year, he had just slept in - and then his children had attacked him by jumping into his bed, not giving him a second to wake up properly.  
This year, he had let his children almost cuddle him to death – while he had still been half asleep.  
This year, he had eaten a piece of cake right in bed - his children had brought the cake into the bedroom before he had been able to protest.  
This year, he had unpacked their presents in bed, and then almost cuddled them to death to say thank you.

He had enjoyed breakfast with them in London, a short trip, a very tasty lunch, another piece of cake and then he had taken them back to Potter's Bar. 

He didn't need much more than that - only one thing had been missing.

The missing piece in the puzzle was now with him - Leila.

She had just congratulated him, euphorically with a warm and loving hug, in which he had also been almost cuddled to death - and he had been lucky enough to enjoy a few kisses on his cheek. 

Right now, they were sitting in the living room - Leila just handed him a sheet of paper that she had pulled out of her basket.

Martin took it and looked at it.  
It was a drawing that looked as if a child had made it.  
You could see a colourful cake on a table, a person who was probably him and wearing a birthday crown, and next to him stood a girl who was probably Leila.  
The boy and the girl in the picture were smiling, above them was a big heart - and at the top were the words: 'Happy Birthday, Martin!’ 

He smiled, looking at Leila.  
"Did you draw me a picture for my birthday?"  
He didn't really need any presents at all since he preferred to give them to others - and yet, of course, he was happy and thankful for every present; for this one even more, because he liked these drawings.  
He loved it when his children drew something for him, even though they drew less and less often as they grew older - but he loved their drawings, every single one, whenever he got one.  
Leila knew it; Leila knew how much he loved these drawings - and seemingly, she had drawn him a drawing in a childlike way, although she was much better and more talented at drawing.  
He beamed at her - you could clearly see that he was very happy about this birthday present.

Leila smiled, patting his thigh.  
"I drew it just to be on the safe side. I wasn't quite sure if I could finish your actual birthday present, and I didn't want to come empty-handed – but well I made it. But since I know how much you love these drawings, I brought it with me anyway."  
Martin beamed, his eyes were sparkling, but he bowed his head.  
"Did you have a lot of work? You know,… you really don’t have to make such an effort for me."  
"Then I rather not answer your question," she winked and bent down to her basket – she pulled out a box which was almost as big as the basket itself.  
"That’s like an answer already! It tells me that you have most likely been working days and nights to get this gift ready for today."  
Leila smiled at him and put the box on his lap.  
"Just be quiet," she said, kissing him on the cheek. 

The kiss put a smile on Martin's face – it was already the 17th kiss; yes, he had counted since he felt very happy about her little kisses.

He looked down at the big box.  
He opened it slowly, peeked inside, examined the content.  
He tilted his head, slowly reached into the box, and very carefully, he pulled out the model airplane that was inside.

The wheels of the passenger plane were extended, the layout of the logo as well as the colours reminded strongly of British Airways, but the name had been changed into: 'Freeman Airways'.  
It was a very detailed model airplane - and Martin was sure that Leila herself had built it for days probably weeks.  
The front part was double-decked; this airplane would be able to carry lots of passengers - or something, Martin didn't know was in the front part of the airplane.

He beamed at the plane – he knew that Leila had already designed and built much bigger airplanes, after all she was an aircraft engineer for British Airways, but never before she had designed and build an airplane for him.

"Press the back door," she smiled at him.

Martin did as he was told, pressed the backdoor of the plane - it didn't open; but now, the small windows were lit; now, lights were shining at the wings; now, all the lights were shining, all the lights that were shining during a night flight.  
The eyes beamed even more.

"Press the front door; the plane is just the packaging," she beamed at him and she loved to see his beaming face.

Once again, Martin followed Leila's order.  
He pressed the front door - it didn't really open, in fact the entire front part of the airplane opened up, revealing a watch.

Martin's mouth hung open when he saw the watch. 

According to the logo on the dial, the watch was from Camden Watch Company; he had quite a few watches from this store - but the design, he was sure, was something Leila had thought up and probably or obviously asked Camden Watch to build her this watch.  
And obviously Camden Watch had agreed.

The dial was golden, the numbers were not readable, only readable as a line in a darker gold and in the appropriate places.  
There was a round feature on the right sight of the dial, which was golden and navy blue - golden in the lower part, navy blue in the upper part; with the additional continuous needle in the middle of it, it looked like the artificial horizon in a cockpit and showed him the current day; at the moment, the horizon showed that he was slightly turning to the left.  
There was a second feature on the left side of the dial, which reminded him of the airspeed instrument in an airplane; it showed him how far the day had progressed.  
The glass frame was golden.  
The strap was made of a lovely brown leather.

The airplane and the watch, which was basically hidden in the cockpit and First Class of the airplane, let him travel back to the year 1986 - and with that his heart skipped a beat, his tummy tingled, and his knees got weak.

\----------Flashback----------  
_\- Wednesday, September/17 - 1986, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent -_

"Where are you going? It’s already quite late," Philomena asked her 15-year-old son, who she met in the hallway with a backpack - he was the only one still living here, because her second-youngest son Jamie, who was 21 years old, had left his parents' house during the summer, as the fourth in the bunch, to move in with his girlfriend.  
Martin stopped in front of her - the blond short hair lay neatly on his head; the slender young body was dressed up in a long-sleeved dark green t-shirt and light blue jeans; his feet were wearing dark green socks and white sneakers.  
"I wanted to go to Leila," he said. "You agreed to the sleep over earlier because school's cancelled tomorrow," he added.  
"Oh Jesus, I forgot about it," she said, then smiled at him. "Well, have fun, darling," she smiled and kissed his head. "And I'll see you tomorrow,... at some point. Dinnertime, at the latest. Friday's still a very normal and not cancelled school day."  
"Yes, don't worry," Martin grinned. "I'm not that far away, just across the street – in case I’m not on time."  
"You’ll just be on time, kid!" she said. "I suppose it's possible for you two to not see each other for a few hours - after all, you'll be going to school together just a few hours later!"  
"But that's more than a few hours. That's forever," he grinned and dramatized the situation. "We eat at 6 p.m. and the bus just picks us up thirteen hours later. That's more than half a day, Mum!"  
"I'll make you dinner until 8 o’clock; the kitchen will be closed at 8.01," she granted him two more hours.  
"I can just eat at Leila's place," he grinned cheekily.  
"You better go before I order you back for breakfast, cheeky devil," she grinned and shooed him out of the house. 

Martin walked through the front garden with a big grin on his face – and he heard his mother’s voice again.

"8 o'clock!"  
"Yeah-yeah, Mum," he turned his head to her and grinned. 

Philomena looked at him, saw him crossing the street - she would probably have to pick him up at 8.15 tomorrow evening. 

Martin didn't ring the doorbell; he walked right through the garden gate into the garden.  
The garden was bigger, but the house was smaller.  
In the garden, there was not only a great meadow, a few filled herbal, fruits and vegetable beds and a great seating area, but also a big oak.

Some years ago, Leila's dad, who was an architect, had designed a tree house and built it with Leila and him.  
There was a spiral staircase that was close to the trunk of the tree.  
At the top, there was some kind of balcony/terrace where you had enough space to sit and relax.  
Actually, it was a normal tree house made of wood with a door and a few windows, but since Leila was very enthusiastic about airplanes, her dad had built the nose of an airplane at the other end of the tree house – it was a wooden airplane cockpit.  
But this cockpit wasn’t equipped with technical instruments, it was equipped with a huge mattress, with blankets and pillows - and through the long cockpit window you had a wonderful view over Willow Park.

Martin rushed up the spiral staircase; he looked forward to Leila, even though he had seen her all day at school.  
But he couldn't see Leila often enough - at the moment, he would love to see her 24 hours a day, because he had fallen head over heels in love some time ago, actually already last year.  
He was in love for the first time – and it felt weird and funny and just absolutely beautiful.  
At the top, he opened the door to the tree house.

The tree house was not only equipped with a great place to sleep, there were also two armchairs and a small couch, books on the floor, a portable radio on a table, magazines - and everything you needed to be independent from your parents for a long time.  
It was very comfortable in here.

On the table in front of the sofa and the armchairs were plates with sandwiches, sweets, drinks, even a plate with fruits and a plate with vegetables - probably an act of kindness and sweetness of Leila's mum. 

Leila jumped out of the armchair, beamed a Martin, rushed to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as the door closed behind him.  
"Martin!", she rejoiced and hugged him happily.  
Her ginger soft hair wasn’t in a loosely bun right now; she was dressed in a turquoise sweater that matched her eyes perfectly - and she was also wearing light blue jeans.  
Martin put his arms around her, hugged her warmly and joyfully.  
"Leila!" He said happily.

They beamed at each other, stepped back and went for the food - both of them hadn't eaten anything for dinner yet; they had wanted to have their own dinner – right now, right here in the tree house.

It was already dark outside; it was already 8pm, but the tree house was powered by battery-powered lights.

Much more comfortable than the sofa was the cockpit sleeping area - so they had grabbed the food and drinks and enjoyed their dinner while chatting on the big mattress.

Their stomachs full and satisfied, Leila and Martin were now lying on the mattress and the blankets - they lay next to each other, lay on their sides, facing each other.  
Between them lay an open pack of marshmallows; in the background, the portable radio was playing music. 

Martin smiled at Leila, beamed at her, fed her a marshmallow.  
His heart was beating faster because of her smile and her bright eyes, because of her fingers touching his lips as she fed him a marshmallow.

They chewed, swallowed, looked deep into each other's eyes.

It was cosy in here, with the soft and diffuse lights, with the music, relaxing on the soft mattress and the blankets; it was cosy with all these pillows. 

"You're very beautiful," Martin murmured shyly.  
His fingers were caressing red strands behind her ear - he was incredibly nervous.  
He felt her fingers in his blond hair, felt her fingers caressing his cheek, heard her shy voice.  
"You're very cute," Leila murmured.

Martin bit his lower lip, gazed at her from soft and faithful blue puppy eyes - his heart leapt into his throat.  
"May I give you a kiss?" Martin muttered shyly.  
He looked at Leila; her turquoise eyes were shining – she was nodding.  
"Yes... "  
The butterflies in his tummy were dancing happily.

Shyly, he slid closer; shyly, he put his hand on Leila's cheek.  
He had never kissed a girl before.  
This would be his first kiss - and he knew that this would also be Leila's first kiss.  
He hoped he wouldn't mess up this very first kiss. 

He looked at her, leaned in, slowly closed his eyes; his noses nudged hers automatically - he slightly puckered his lips, and breathed a nervous and shy kiss on her lips.  
He felt her lips against his, felt his heart leaping into his throat again as the butterflies danced through his entire body.

His first kiss - and it felt heavenly, it just felt amazing. 

Not only did it feel heavenly and amazing, he seemed to have done it the right way since Leila not only breathed a kiss on his lips as well, but she also beamed at him quite enthusiastically and happily. 

His head slipped back just a little bit; his nose still nudged hers. 

"That was nice," he muttered nervously.  
"It absolutely was," Leila muttered nervously. 

Martin swallowed - the 15-year-old boy caressed Leila's cheek, caressed red strands behind her ear again. 

"I... Leila... I... I... ", he murmured and muttered, couldn’t say it - but then the words suddenly slipped out his mouth very hastily and nervously. "I've fallen madly in love with you."  
The golden core around Leila's pupil was shining and sparkling even more than usual - her voice was nervous and very hasty too.  
"I've fallen deeply in love with you, too."

The music was forgotten, the marshmallows were killed once again as Martin and Leila slipped closer again, pressing their bodies against each other – their lips were giving each other a shyly second kiss.

"Would you... would you like to be my girlfriend?" Martin's young voice murmured against Leila's lips.  
"That would be very lovely. I’d love to be your girlfriend!," Leila's young voice mumbled. 

With hearts pounding like mad and butterflies dancing wildly in their tummies, the two 15-year-old teens were looking at each other.

"Can you kiss me again ?" Leila asked with a whisper.  
"As often as you want me to”, Martin beamed charmingly.

His lips pressed a firmer, braver and bolder kiss on her lips.

It was September the 17th, 1986.

\--------End of Flashback--------

That first kiss - in the 'cockpit' of her tree house.  
His heart was still racing, his tummy was still tingling, and his knees were still weak. 

Slowly and carefully, he put the airplane down on the coffee table; slowly and carefully, he took the watch out of the airplane, even managed to close the front area of the plane without any instructions - funny enough it had made the same noises as an airplane when the doors closed and opened, only quieter.  
Leila was a genius.

He beamed at the watch, was absolutely enthusiastic about it - he loved watches; that's why he already owned 36 of them, counting this one in. 

He put the watch around his wrist, then turned his head to Leila.

"Thank you!" He said euphorically and took her face in both hands - a kiss was pressed against her forehead. "The airplane is absolutely awesome and so is the watch," he beamed enthusiastically. "And so are you," he whispered with a warm and charming voice that couldn’t help but sound flirtatious. 

Leila beamed at him with her green-blue eyes, the golden core was shining.  
She heard the flirtatious intonation in his voice, enjoyed it, enjoyed what this flirtatious intonation in his voice triggered – a fast beating heart, a tingling tummy, soft knees.  
But not only the flirtatious intonation in his voice triggered these intense heart palpitations, this wonderful tingling in her tummy and these weak knees.  
It was also the kiss, Martin's hands on her cheeks, Martin's smile and happy face, his voice in general, his presence, his closeness and his joy and charisma.  
But even one of these things was enough to cause her heart to race and her tummy to tingle and her knees to go all soft.

If she had known or at least suspected that a love comeback was his greatest and most ardent wish at the moment, she would have given it to him as a birthday present along with the drawing, airplane and watch, because she longed for nothing more than a love comeback with him, too.


	7. Important Questions and a Dream in Blue, White & Red

_**\- Thursday, September/12 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

The rain drummed softly and gently against the windows in the kitchen, which was lit with dim light.

Martin was sitting at his round wooden dining table; he was already wearing a comfortable T-shirt, boxer shorts and a dressing gown.  
He sat at the round wooden dining table with his laptop; he was still answering e-mails.  
He held a cup of tea in his right hand while the fingers of his left hand slowly typed words on the keyboard.

The fingers typed a farewell greeting - he had just answered a long e-mail from his publicist.  
His left index finger wiped across the mousepad, moving the cursor to 'Send' - and then he clicked on the mousepad with his left index finger.

His eyes flew over the other e-mails - he had already answered all the important and urgent ones.  
Actually, it was enough for him today; he could answer the other e-mails tomorrow evening or at the weekend, or he simply called some people.  
He felt much more like having some telly time on the couch before going to bed.

He closed the e-mail program.

A summery photograph appeared on the desktop that made his heart race faster. 

The blue eyes beamed, the blue eyes sparkled and shone, scurrying across the picture that was displayed on the desktop.  
That it made his heart race faster was a gross understatement because his heart, to put it colloquially, freaked out completely. There were no words that could sufficiently or adequately express his love for the people in the photograph.

The desktop showed him three people. 

He loved this photograph, which he had taken here in his garden during the summer. 

Blossoming colourful and green flowers could be seen in the background, as well as a bright blue sky.  
Bright eyes were in the foreground - bright eyes of his children and Leila.  
His children were sitting on the bench in the garden, beaming into the camera, a big smile on their faces as if they could not be happier right now.  
Leila was standing behind the bench, but leaned down to Joe and Gracie - her arms wrapped around the two children whose heads were pressed against her chin; her turquoise eyes were shining and beaming; her lips also showed a smile that clearly showed that she was truly happy.  
Warmth radiated from this photograph - warmth and family, happiness and pure joy. 

He beamed at the photograph, not only longed for Leila, not only longed for Joe and Gracie - he longed for something else; he wanted to have all of them with him, just like in the photograph. 

A loud noise resounded - ringing, tooting.

Martin flinched strongly, blinking, clasping his chest, taking a deep breath.  
His eyes no longer looked at this beautiful photograph, his eyes were now looking at a Skype call from his son.  
He blinked again, squinting his eyes together, let his eyes wander to the laptop's time display.

11.12 p.m. 

He answered the video call, irritated about the call, curious about the reason, angry about the time.

It wasn't just Joe in his pyjamas who was holding his head into the camera.  
Martin could also see his daughter who also seemed to sit in his son’s bed. 

"Why the fucking hell are you calling me at 11.12 p.m., - no at 11.13 p.m. in the middle of the school week, when you should already sleep peacefully for more than two fucking hours?!", he asked with an irritated expression on his face, a curious and serious tone of voice, a loud and grumbling voice, and loving eyes, which clearly expressed how happy he was to see them, how irritated and curious he was, how grumpy, worried and angry.

"Pssssst Daddy," Gracie whispered. "Mummy will catch us if you’re cursing loudly."

Martin blinked again, almost staring at her.

"Excuse me?! I shouldn't get upset when you're still sitting together in the middle of the school week at 11.14 p.m.? You’re just skyping instead of sleeping! And you want me to whisper so mum doesn't catch you? What's wrong with you?! Go to bed! Sleep! Now!"

Joe just grinned with an unimpressed face - what could his dad do now; he was in London,… miles away from them - he also held his index finger in front of his lips.

"Pssssst! Dad!", he whispered. "You have to whisper."  
And involuntarily, Martin now actually whispered.  
"What the fucking hell is this?" He asked with a whisper, and then shook his head, not talking with a whisper any longer. "May I ask, what the fu… well I already swore a lot… what the fudge is going on in your heads right now?!"  
Gracie and Joe rolled their eyes but grinned to him.  
"Calm down, Dad," Joe smiled whisperingly, and immediately gave him a reassuringly air-kiss, because he knew that his dad didn't like being told to calm down when he was grumpy and angry. "We have a very important question and it couldn't wait until tomorrow," he smiled sweetly and charmingly, just as Martin when he wasn’t grumpy and angry with his kids.

Martin bowed his head.  
An important question, something that seemed to be important to them.  
Were they not feeling well?  
Did they need comfort?  
Solicitous alarm bells went off, chasing away the grumbling and anger, sending the caring and loving daddy to the front line.

He whispered in a fatherly warm, caring and loving voice.

"What's going on, Sweethearts? Is everything okay with you?" he asked whisperingly, his eyes gentle and loving. "How can I help you?"

Gracie and Joe beamed to him.

Gracie took a deep breath.  
"Weeelll - we wanted to know if you finally told Leila that you’re madly in love with her again," Gracie whispered.  
She looked very curiously into the camera with her brother, looked curiously to Martin, who was sitting in London, who looked as if he wanted to jump through the laptop and wring their necks, chain them to the bed, and make sure they would sleep immediately - for the rest of the night.

"Have you lost your minds!!??, he asked loud and grumpy.

Joe and Gracie looked at him - unimpressed, even grinning. Sometimes it was really wonderful to experience him like that since they loved to hear him swear, since they loved to see him grumpy, since it was mostly quite funny. But sometimes his grumbling, the serious and admonishing words were not wonderful and funny at all - but then, they mostly deserved to be told off with harsh, serious, admonishing and loud words.

"You turn off the laptop - NOW! You should have been asleep since 9 p.m.! There’s school tomorrow morning! And instead of just sleeping peacefully and sweetly, you’ve a secret fucking meeting to talk about Leila and me!?! Are you fucking nuts and crazy? You know very well that you could have asked me that tomorrow! Go to bed and fucking sleep, for fucks sake!" he told them off - loudly. 

His children just smiled at him with a sweet and cute smile.  
"We love you," they said.  
And they still smiled as sweet as sugar.

"You muted me! You little gadflies – turn up the volume again!" He said loudly, angrily and grumpily - but it was just a soundless order for Joe and Gracie, because they had actually muted him.  
Joe grinned cheekily; he had recognised from the lip movements what his father had just said, had also been able to recognise that he had been very upset about their 'important' question and probably also about the fact that they weren't asleep yet.  
"It's a pity that we can't do that in real life," Joe commented as cheekily as his father had been as a kid and teen.

Martin's raised his index finger threateningly, but his children just giggled quietly, sending him several air-kisses.

"We won't turn up the volume. We’ll do it when you promise to whisper," Gracie mumbled with a whisper. "Come on, Daddy - just Skype with us for a minute or two and answer our questions, we'll be back in bed a lot faster – we’ll be back in bed much faster when you stop to fret about us being not asleep yet." 

Martin sighed, nodded approvingly - he didn't feel like calling Amanda in Potters Bar to betray them.  
Gracie showed her thumb; Joe had turned up the volume again.

"Next time we see each other, I'll wring your necks, you nasty lunatics."

The children giggled again.

"These are empty threats – you would never do this to us; you love us far too much for that." Gracie beamed and winked. "The next time we see each other, you'll cuddle and kiss us to death rather than burying us in the garden because you wrung our necks for insolence and breaking the rules," she whispered.  
"Of course, these are empty threats; I just wanted to express once more that I am not amused," he whispered.  
"We knew you wouldn’t be – so, you can just go back to being nice, lovely and sweet, Daddy. And you should beam and sparkle at us because you are so happy to see us. We're happy to see you too, Daddy," she beamed and waved.  
"You're getting more and more exhausting, tiring and annoying as you get older and smarter," he whispered with a slight smile. "It's good to see you." His eyes sparkled and beamed, and he sent a kiss to them. 

Joe and Gracie beamed at him, almost adoring him.  
It was always amazing to see him, whether it was via Skype, FaceTime or live; it was always great to have contact with him, no matter how, even if it was just the voice on the phone.  
They had always had a close relationship with him, even though he had often been far away, but the close relationship with him had intensified since the separation - because even though they had spent their time together very intensively before the separation, now the time together had increased in intensity and quality; whenever they were with him, their dad was completely focused on them, and they were completely focused on him.  
They loved him a lot – and so, even this Skype call was making them feel absolutely happy and joyful.

Martin beamed at his children - even if he didn't like to see them awake right before midnight, it was just fantastic to see them.  
It was great that he was able to see them whenever he wanted, whenever they wanted; it was great that there was no quarrel or rivalry with Amanda about it – it just worked smoothly.  
Their close friendship didn’t exist anymore, but despite the more casual and distanced friendship, they still worked perfectly and in community as parents. 

"Alright... " he muttered in a whisper. "About your ‘important’ question. I haven't spoken to her yet."  
Joe tilted his head.  
"Why not?"  
"Because it's not that easy, Joe."  
"It doesn't seem to be easy being a dad either, and yet you're our dad every day," Joe argued.

Well,… his son was right - Martin had to admit.

"I can't think of any argument against your comment right now. I'm simply scared and afraid, Joe. I don't want to jeopardise our friendship. I don't want my love confession to change anything about our friendship. I rather have her as my best friend than telling her I've fallen in love with her again and then maybe just being able to enjoy a slightly more distant friendship with her," he whispered. "Look,… Sweethearts. I grew up with Leila, very intense and close. She is extremely important to me and I don’t want to miss her this intensely and close in my life, I don’t want to miss 0.00000001 percent of that."  
Joe tilted his head.  
"Sometimes you have to tell us something that we might not like. For example, when you’re angry or you have to tell us off, or when you have to tell us that we can't come over at the weekend. But we still love you afterwards. We still love you, no matter how often you complain or have to tell us off or have to cancel an appointment or weekend or whatever it is. We still love you as our dad. Even so you’ve to tell us something we don’t like at all or feel uncomfortable with, we don't want to miss you, not even 0,0000000001 percent. Why should it be different with Leila just because you tell her you love her? I’m sure you’re also afraid you'll hurt us; I’m sure you’re also afraid you’ll make us sad or that the things you have to say won't please us. Nevertheless, you say it because it’s important to you and on your mind."

Well,… his son was right - Martin had to admit.

"Again, I have no quick counter-argument," he admitted with a smile. "I'm just shy and it's hard for me because she makes my heart hyperventilate just by thinking about her. My speech-centre has not managed to outwit the hyperventilating heart and the tingling tummy, yet. Satisfied?"

Gracie smiled at him.

"Aww, you're so cute, Daddy!" She beamed. "But please try to encourage your speech-centre to be a little braver. I'm sure you won't regret it. You're far too sweet and lovable; Leila will probably fall in love with you again, too. I'd have fallen in love with you long ago if you weren't my daddy." she said to him with daughterly love. “I’m sure everything will end well, Daddy. Don’t be shy.”  
Martin bowed his head.  
"Aw, thank you, darling," he whispered with a warm and fatherly voice – and he formed a heart with his fingers in front of his chest. 

Joe and Gracie sent him a heart to London.

Joe bowed his head.  
"How much do you love her?"  
"Just as much as you two, only in a different way – not as a father but as a man. And I can't put the love I feel for you into words."  
"Do you love her all the way up to the moon?" Joe asked with a smile.  
"That's not enough."  
"Ten times to the moon and back."  
"Still not enough."  
"Infinite times to the moon and back?"  
"That’s still not enough, not even close to the truth."  
Joe and Gracie beamed at him - they had understood that this was not only true for Leila but also for them; their daddy didn’t have any words to describe his love for Leila and them.

They sent a heart to him again.  
"That's also a gross understatement, if you’d asked us how much we love you."  
And this time, it was Martin who formed another heart with his fingers. 

"I love you so much," he whispered and winked.  
"We love you even more," Joe and Gracie whispered.

Martin sent two kisses, got two kisses back.  
"Before Mum catches you and all three of us are getting in trouble, I'm going to send you to bed now. And I promise you I'll do my best with Leila. Sleep tight, alright?"  
"Wouldn’t be fair if you to get in trouble. Sleep well, Dad," Joe smiled.  
"And sweet dreams about Leila," Gracie winked sweetly.  
They sent him two more kisses and got two kisses back.

Skype stopped showing him his kids – he sighed; he still wasn’t amused about the time, but it had been awesome to see them; he would have loved to give them a proper good night kiss, a proper good night hug, a proper good night cuddle.  
Skype stopped showing him his kids – gosh, he missed them a lot.

Martin chewed his lower lip; his heart was not only beating fast because of Leila, it was also beating fast because of his children, who had conjured pure happiness and pure joy into his body with their hearts and kisses and their loving words.  
And indeed, he drifted into a little daydream about Leila.

\----------Daydream----------  
_1990 - and in Paris the sun of July was shining in the bright blue sky._

_He was standing on the viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower, was standing here with Leila; they had just climbed it – today, on the second day of their one-week stay in Paris; their first holiday on their own.  
For a long time, he had saved his pocket money and money he had earned from little ‘teenage-jobs’ to take Leila to Paris for a week.  
And it had already been more than worth it, because Leila's joy and gratitude for the little holiday was enormous._

_He put his arm around Leila, looked over the city; the blond hair was lightly blowing in the wind.  
Strands of ginger hair were gently blowing in his face.  
He turned his head and beamed at Leila, who hadn't looked over the city, but into his soft, still 18-year-old face. _

_She snuggled up into his arm, kissed his lips.  
"It's lovely in Paris," she murmured softly against his lips before kissing him again. "Thank you, baby."  
"It truly is very lovely in Paris with you. And it was my pleasure, honey - I loved to make your dream come true," he breathed softly, and gave her a kiss, too.  
She beamed at him, kissed his cheek._

_The amazing view of the city slipped a little into the background._

_He turned to his girlfriend, put both arms around her as she hugged him lovingly.  
He nestled his cheek against hers. _

_"I love you, Leila," he whispered in her ear.  
"And I love you, Martin," she murmured in his ear. _

_They kissed in each other's ears._  
They kissed each other’s cheeks.  
They breathed a kiss on the corner of their mouths. 

_And then their lips melted away in a loving and tender kiss._

\---------End of Daydream--------

His lips were tingling – he was still able to taste and feel her lips, even so they had shared this kiss more than 29 years ago, even so he hadn’t felt her lips for 28 years, 6 months and 20 days; or to put it a little more dramatically, he had not felt those wonderful lips for nine hundred million nine hundred seventy-nine thousand and two hundred (900.979.200) seconds.


	8. Banana Peels - an Unexpected Help

_**\- Tuesday, September/17 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Blessed with a week of home office, Leila had used the day to work in peace and quiet to meet up with Martin tonight.  
She had managed a lot throughout the day, much more than she had planned, which was incredibly good, so maybe she was able to relax for a few days.  
Sometimes it was great to work from home, and she was usually disciplined enough to enjoy a long weekend at the end.  
Because of the peace and the privacy at home, as well as her discipline and motivation, she had already worked through almost everything - she would probably manage the rest tomorrow and then a long weekend would lay ahead. 

Martin had invited her over for dinner - he had cooked, an outrageously delicious pasta with lots of vegetables and horseradish. The wine that he had served had also been delicious, not to mention the sight of him. 

At the moment she was sitting on the couch – she was waiting. 

During their dinner, and they didn't even remember why they had started to talk about it, they had talked about consoles.  
She had never owned one, but Martin did.  
He still had one of the older consoles, even though he now had a new WII and Xbox.  
They had decided to have some fun with an old console.

At the moment Martin was arranging the Super Nintendo console. 

Leila looked and stared at him with pining eyes that were just staring at his butt as he bent down and showed it off in a very handsome way.  
Her heart was beating louder.  
She watched Martin, who was now kneeling on the floor, connecting the controllers, turning a little more towards her to pull the console closer to the couch so that the cables of the controllers would reach the sofa.  
Her eyes watched his profile intensively.  
The tingling in her tummy became stronger.

Martin raised his head, tilted it, smiled.  
"Everything okay?", he asked and stood up again, the two controllers were in his hand, the game was already in the slot.  
Leila blinked.  
"Huh?", she asked as Martin came closer and handed her a controller.  
"I asked if everything is okay with you? You were looking at me like... ", he smiled and sat down next to her.  
"Yes. Yes, everything's fine. I’ve only looked at your beautiful face," she smiled at him, her heart leapt into her throat.  
Martin smiled, leaned over to her, breathed a kiss on her cheek - he couldn't hold it back after the compliment and with that tingle in his tummy, which the compliment had caused.

"You're welcome to stare at my beautiful face a little longer,… then I'll win," he grinned, trying to cover up his tachycardia and tingling in the tummy.  
Leila had to grin too.  
"Idiot," she grinned. "Let's play the game with the balloons," she said.

She really looked forward to chasing him across the field while destroying the balloons of his character.

Martin turned his head around with a grin and set Mario Cart to competition mode instead of race mode - the graphics were bad, but the game was already quite a few years old.  
With his children, he only played WII or Xbox, but with Leila, he played Super Nintendo from time to time, mostly Mario Cart and the game with the balloons.  
He chose one of the four fields – the one they mostly played: the asphalt. 

Round after round, they destroyed each other's three balloons; so far the winning and losing was very even - sometimes Mario lost all the balloons first, sometimes it was Princess Peach. 

Martin and Leila had a lot of fun, enjoying tea, cookies and fruits between the rounds.  
They were concentrated while playing, both were extremely ambitious and motivated, and forgot everything around them.

The Mario Cart music played from the telly, which showed Mario's view in the upper area and Peach's view in the lower area.  
You could see the asphalt, you could see the boundaries, you could see fields where they could earn 'weapons' by driving over them while they were flashing.  
They raced across the big playing field; they both still had all three balloons.

Leila raced over one of the flashing fields, got a banana peel that she could put down somewhere.

Martin got grumpy and sweary next to Leila.  
"Fuck! I missed you," he was grumpy because his turtle shell had buzzed past Leila's princess.  
Leila laughed.

She searched for him on her screen, also looked up at his screen for a moment to find out roughly where he was and in which direction he was going.  
He was close to her.  
She drove across the playing field, made one turn, quickly put down the banana peel - had pressed the button on the controller extremely frantically. 

Martin cursed when he saw her, but couldn't stop anymore - Mario rotated, a balloon was missing.

"You're a fucking dirty skunk," Martin grinned after cursing and swearing, alluding to the fact that she had thrown a banana peel onto the asphalt.  
Leila laughed, had driven over a momentarily flashing and loaded field again, had got a banana peel again, was already looking for Martin and his Mario.  
"I'll be a fucking dirty skunk again."

The banana peel was put down again hectically and at exactly the right moment. 

Martin just managed to get out of the way, but the green turtle shell he had shot himself was still buzzing across the playing field and hit his Mario.

"What the fucking hell is this shit?" he grumbled as the second balloon was missing. "It’s your fault – this fucking turtle just hit me because of your rotten banana peel," he kept muttering and swearing. "I can't even find a flashing field. Where are they?"

Leila laughed; she loved it when he cursed, because for her it was usually more amusing than anything else. 

"I have another one. It'll get you. You can count on it," she laughed.

As fast as it happened, Leila couldn't even blink.

Martin suddenly attacked her, wanted to take the controller away from her – he pounced on her.  
After the first shock, Leila pulled back her controller – she was laughing.  
Martin's controller lay on the sofa, he grinned and snapped at Leila's controller again, turning to her even more, getting even closer to her, pushing her even more onto the sofa.  
Martin snapped at the controller again while Leila was already lying with her back on the sofa, laughing and stretching her arm away from him.  
Martin was above her; he was laughing with her, felt her other hand on his throat, felt her fingers tickle very cheekily.  
He laughed so hard that his arm was giving away.

Exuberance and amusement had put them in this position - Martin was now lying on top of her.

Their laughter stopped. 

They looked at each other, looked deep into each other's eyes; their faces were incredibly close.  
Until a few seconds ago, they had laughed, now, suddenly, there was a gigantically romantic sparkle.  
Eyes flitted across each other's face, tongues licked their lips; hearts beat far too fast, butterflies flew far too wild, knees were soft, an intense tingling rustled through their bodies. 

Martin lowered his head just a little bit, but suddenly his lips were touching Leila's full lips, because she had raised her head slightly. 

Two pairs of eyes were closed.  
Two pairs of lips lingered on each other.  
Two hearts hyperventilated.  
Two heads were clouded with happiness and euphoria.  
Twenty thousand butterflies danced inside them.  
Two pairs of knees were softer than warm pudding.  
Two pairs of ears were rustling.  
Two bodies sent pure happiness and euphoria through every cell.  
Two noses nudged at each other.

The romantic sparkle was so loud, that they could almost hear it.

Their lips no longer lingered on each other, their lips kissed longingly and in immediate harmony and perfection.  
Their lips knew what the other one liked, knew how to move, knew what to do to make the other one purr immediately.

Martin and Leila purred in their kiss. 

Their tongues found each other, danced and played together in instant harmony and perfection. They danced together longingly and hungrily.  
Their French kiss not only showed how much it was sparkling romantically, it also showed very clearly how much they had longed for a kiss. 

Martin's lips tasted a little rougher than they did back then.  
Leila's lips tasted a little fuller than they did back then.

Leila purred and sighed into the kiss - Damn! Martin had been able to kiss her outrageously and forbidden good back then, but that was almost nothing in contrast to the kiss that she was experiencing with him at the moment.  
Her hand let go of the controller; her hands ran into his hair, stroking through it.  
Her fingers fondled his neck, eliciting a deep purr and sigh from him; making him deepen the kiss.  
Leila's heart almost exploded with unbridled joy.

Martin's heart was rumbling and doing somersaults again and again, going completely crazy, just like the rest of his body.  
His lips and his body showed him clearly that he had missed Leila much more than he had noticed all these years.  
He purred and sighed again, deepening the kiss a little more.  
His hands ran down her body as Leila wrapped her legs around his hips.  
Martin had to release the kiss.

They gasped frantically for breath but without a word, their lips reunited before the clock could let five seconds pass. 

The kiss remained sweet and longing, eliciting another purr from both of them.  
Leila's tongue licked tenderly across Martin's lower lip, her tongue greeted his longing and devotedly kiss.  
Sweet and longing was the French kiss; devotedly became passionate.  
Martin's teeth nibbled at Leila's lip, making their tongues dance passionately with each other over and over again. 

Passion became tenderness.

The tongues danced only tenderly and sweetly with each other, the lips sucked only sweetly, the teeth nibbled only lovingly - it was absolute perfection, as if they knew each other inside and out; and that was exactly what it was.

Their lips exchanged little kisses, while their hearts still beat far too fast, while they could not only feel it sparkle, but also hear it.

Martin's lips wandered over Leila's lips, wandered over her cheek, wandered to her ear - his breath blew over it.  
Leila turned her head slightly; her lips kissed his ear, her lips sucked his earlobe, her teeth nibbled at it teasingly.  
Martin purred deeply, sighed with relish, even groaned when she not only nibbled his ear but also cradled his neck in a charming and playful way - he pressed his lap against hers.

"Leila,... " Martin purred in a breathy voice. 

Leila's fingers were buried in Martin's hair, the tongue licked over his ear, the lips kissed his cheek, caressed it with tender kisses.  
Martin's lips kissed Leila's ear, kissed along her jaw, now heard her purr instead of feeling her kisses.

"Martin,... " Leila purred in a whispering voice.

Martin's lips kissed along her jaw, kissed down to her neck.  
He felt her fingers scratching his scalp, crawling his scalp, her hips moved slightly.  
His whole body was tingling; his heart was beating so hard against his chest that his ears were throbbing, but he could still hear the romantic sparkle.  
The butterflies were incredibly active.  
He enjoyed her crawling, enjoyed her soft movements of the hips, enjoyed her lap rubbing against his.  
It felt heavenly - everything in the moment.

"Honey,... " Martin whispered soulfully.

Leila let her fingers play with Martin's grey hair, which still felt as soft as the blonde hair back then.  
She felt his lips on her neck - he now sucked on it, distributed little kisses, licked gently over it, nibbled at the warm skin.  
She had goose bumps everywhere.  
She felt a tingling, everywhere.  
She felt that her heart was still hyperventilating.  
She enjoyed his nibbling, his tongue, his kisses, his sucking.  
It took her breath away.

"Baby,... " Leila whispered affectionately.

They were wax in each other's hands.

Martin's teeth nibbled tenderly over Leila's neck, nibbled lovingly over her jaw, nibbled gently over her cheek, nibbled teasingly on Leila's lips. 

They moaned into their near kiss as they rubbed their crotches a little more intensely against each other. 

Martin swallowed, feeling her hands sliding down his back, caressing his bum, pushing him closer.  
He captured her lips, ensnared her in the next longing kiss while his hands were busy with her jeans.  
He kissed her gently, elicited a purr and a sigh from her. 

He opened the button of her jeans without a problem.  
Her legs were no longer wrapped around his hips; she helped him with the jeans.  
Martin pushed them down, had to stop the kiss reluctantly, but in return he could take off her jeans.  
He bent down, kissed her nose, then reunited their lips - they weren't tired of kissing each other at all.

His left hand slipped between their bodies.  
Her legs were wrapped around his hips again and so his hand quickly found what it was looking for.  
He let his hand gently and breathily caress her panties - the fingers felt the wet panties; he rubbed it softly, got it even wetter. 

Leila moaned into the kiss.  
"Baby!", it was suppressed by the intimate kiss.  
Her hand slipped between their bodies - the hand was rubbing teasingly and seducing across the bulge in Martin's jeans.  
"Honey!", Martin moaned into the intimate kiss.  
Leila felt his heart beating fast.

Martin released his lips from hers.  
He licked his lips, sat up and knelt on the couch.  
His fingers frantically opened his jeans button; his eyes looked down at Leila – with relish, longingly and sensually.  
He recognized the same in her eyes - relish, longing, sensuality.  
Martin pushed down his jeans, then put his hand on her cheek – his thumb caressed gently back and forth. 

The romantic sparkle was palpable.  
The romantic sparkle was tangible.  
The romantic sparkle was audible.

Leila looked up at him with a strong beating heart; her eyes were glowing and shining, expressing more than perfect words could have done.  
And the glow and sparkle in Martin's eyes told her more than perfect words could have done, too.  
Leila put her hand on Martin's hand.

Martin bent down, using his free hand to push his shorts down.  
His lips captured hers harmoniously as her legs were wrapped around his hips again.  
They deepened their kiss to an intimate and sweet French kiss as Martin's free hand pushed Leila's panties aside.  
He felt her teeth, felt her charmingly biting his lower lip as they felt each other very intimate for the first time in all those years.

Martin groaned, shivered pleasantly - her fingers of the right hand were scratching and fondling his neck and making him even softer, making him melt away; her lovely biting turned him on; this fantastic feeling of his cock entering her very slowly and tenderly was just awesome; the knowledge that they felt each other bare for the very first time was just amazing since they had never had sex without a condom back then.  
He moaned again, snuggled up to her, made love to her very slowly, nestled his cheek against hers after her bite, purred and sighed into her ear.

"Leila honey... ", his voice purred with warmth and relish.

Leila’s left hand caressed into his grey hair, played with the strands, tickled his neck, knew exactly what she was doing to Martin - it made him even softer than he already was; it made him even more cuddly, it made him snuggle even more.  
At least that's how it had been back then - but it didn't seem to have changed.  
The love making became even more intense, slower and more gently; she felt him cuddling her even more; she felt him snuggling up even more.  
His whispering voice made her heart race even faster.  
He felt fantastic, simply perfect and breathtaking – he himself and what he did.  
And it was fabulous to feel him without a condom for the very first time.  
She had enjoyed having sex with him all those years ago - after their break-up, she had never enjoyed sex to this extent again.

"Martin baby...", her voice whispered warmly and sensually, when she also felt his sweet kisses on her ear.

Leila wrapped her legs around his hips even more, enjoying every single second.  
She put her head back – moaned and sighed and purred.  
Martin moaned in her ear.  
He could hardly believe what was happening, what they were sharing, what they were enjoying. 

The love making was slow, savouring, extremely gentle - but because of the longing, because of the sensuality, because of this intense infatuation and the ardent desire for a love comeback, their orgasm was already tingling dangerously through their bodies. 

Dangerously tickling, the orgasm suddenly rushed amazingly fast through their bodies - there was no self-control anymore, there was only lust and pleasure, harmony and perfection, longing and infatuation.

Their lips met as they experienced their orgasm.  
They moaned into their kiss.

"Leila... Leila... honey... " Martin moaned with pleasure as the orgasm made his whole body feel pleasantly and comfortably.  
"Baby... " Leila moaned in their loving kiss. "Oh Martin... " she whispered as the intense orgasm made her body warm and comfortable. 

They enjoyed every single second - every single second, no matter how small. 

But even after their orgasm, they didn't let go of each other; even after their orgasm they still looked as if they were clued together; even after their orgasm, they still cuddled and snuggled up even closer as they kissed each other deeply.

Martin's fingers caressed Leila's cheek and jaw.  
Leila's fingers caressed Martin's neck and head. 

Hopefully, the comeback of their love was within their reach – they both thought while enjoying their cuddles and the butterflies in their tummies.  
The wildly beating heart from the other, which they felt in their chests was surely a very good sign.


	9. An Incredibly Special Day

_**\- Tuesday, September/17 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Martin looked down to Leila – he supported himself with his forearms.  
His heart still leapt into his throat, while an unbelievably warm and cosy feeling was rushing through his body, not only because of the climax.  
His eyes watched her face, looked into her eyes, watched every little movement.  
His heart stopped beating, just to beat even faster and louder against his chest again – he was able to hear it in his ears again.  
The romantic sparkle was still tangible. 

He could still remember the first kiss, his very first kiss, their first kiss - back then in the tree house.  
The tingling and sparkling he felt in his body right now, this tingling and sparkling that infected every single cell and left his whole body warm and comfortable, was exactly what he had felt back then in the tree house, when lips had touched his lips for the very first time.  
He would never forget this feeling. 

He bit his lower lip, looked at Leila with warm blue eyes.  
They sparkled flirtatious, they sparkled charming, but they also sparkled shy and insecure.  
"Would it be bad if I tell you that I fell in love with you all over again?", the voice purred flirtatiously and shyly, charmingly and insecurely.  
"It wouldn't be bad... ", Leila muttered with a loud throbbing heart, so loud that she was afraid Martin hadn't heard her answer.  
"No?" Martin's voice asked for safety.  
"No," Leila breathed.  
His face hovered over Leila's face - he looked deep into her eyes.  
"I have fallen in love with you all over again, Leila," his voice whispered excitedly but flirtatiously, nervously but charmingly.  
And again, he bit his lower lip and watched every movement in her turquoise eyes.

Leila's heart skipped a beat just to beat even more quickly and loudly against her chest; it skipped a beat again, only to beat quick and loud against her chest again.  
She felt the warm tingle and sparkle in her body - a warm tingle and sparkle caused by their kisses, caused by him making love to her, caused by the climax, caused by his voice and his words, caused by his declaration of love.  
This warm tingling and sparkling were as beautiful as feeling his lips for the very first time, as hearing that she was beautiful for the very first time, as hearing that he had fallen in love with her. 

"Would it bother you if I tell you that you stole my heart again?", the voice purred flirtatiously and sweetly, nervously and excitedly.  
"It wouldn't bother me at all," Martin breathed - his heart was beating so fast that he had the feeling he was running a marathon in the Sahara.  
"No?", Leila also asked for safety's sake - the voice soft and calm, pleasant and warm, nervous and shy, amorous and flirting.  
"No... " he breathed in joyful anticipation.  
She looked up, looked deep into his eyes, lost in his sea-blue eyes.  
"You have stolen my heart again, Martin.", the voice purred warmly but nervously, amorously but excited.

Their eyes began to glow and shine; their lips drew into a large and radiant smile; their hearts were beating with happiness and comfort.

"Is this a love comeback?" Leila muttered as she watched every move of Martin’s facial expression.  
"Well,... I was pretty lazy at school, as you know... ", he smirked cheekily. "...but if I put 1 and 1 together - you fell in love with me, I fell in love with you,... yes, I would say this is a love comeback," he winked charmingly and cheekily - he was still nervous, he was still shy, but the euphoria made him wink, made him be very charming and cheeky and flirty. 

He made Leila laugh. 

His lips grinned mischievously, but the eyes sparkled with adoration and love – they flitted to her lips.  
He bent down, rubbed his nose over hers, then captured her lips, kissed her devotedly and tenderly, before breathing a kiss on her nose. 

"Have we been waiting a long time for this to happen?" He murmured and kissed her nose again.  
"I've been hoping for a comeback since your April Fool's joke," Leila smiled with a grin, kissed him on the lips.  
She felt his cheeky and boyish grin.  
"It was fucking disgusting, wasn't it?" he laughed boyish and cheeky before breathing a kiss on Lila's lips.  
"You can say that again," she grinned and exchanged a kiss with Martin.  
"I got carried away a bit," he grinned at her lips, then breathed a loving kiss on them. "But before you admonish me, be glad I got carried away like that, otherwise you'd still be throwing banana peels on the asphalt instead of enjoying our love comeback."  
Leila laughed and bit his lip gently.  
"Be glad you stole my heart during your disgusting April Fool’s joke - otherwise I'd have dumped an extra load of banana peels in front of your Mario right now."  
Martin laughed, then pressed a kiss on Leila's nose.  
"You made me fall in love with you all over again, just a few days later. You made me fall in love with you when you took care of my house while I wasn’t here. You sent me a selfie - lying on the couch, wearing one of my Snoopy sweaters; that selfie made me fall in love with you all over again.”  
Leila beamed at him.  
"Aww, I remember this selfie. And I really like that sweater, especially on you," she smiled with glowing eyes.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugged him tightly, cuddled her face into his grey hair - the smell of it was incredibly familiar; it still smelled just as good and pleasant as it did back then when it had been blond.  
It felt extremely familiar to hug him and to feel him that close, and yet it felt absolutely different as his body stature had changed over the years.  
She cuddled him, felt his fast beating heart, felt her fast beating heart.

"Wait a moment... ", Martin murmured smiling as his face was pressed into the crook of her neck. "The jeans is a little uncomfortable."

With a heavy heart Leila let go of him, looked at him, saw him wink as he knelt down.  
She eyed him while he pulled the shorts over his luscious bum; she eyed him while he took off his jeans, which had been pulled down to his knee pits – he was just wearing a sweater and shorts; she was only wearing a sweater and panties.  
She shivered pleasantly when she remembered that she had enjoyed making love with him. 

Martin sat down on the couch again, stretched out his arms.  
"Come here," he murmured gently.  
Leila sat up, slid closer, and let herself sink into his arms.  
He laid down on the couch, pulled her with him, wrapped his arms around her, lovingly hugged and cuddled her.

Leila cuddled her body on his, snuggled her face into the crook of his neck, felt his fingers on her back, felt him caress it gently, felt his bare legs against her bare legs.  
She placed a kiss in the crook of his neck.  
"Do you regret it?" She murmured.  
"The kisses, the lovemaking and the declaration of love?" he asked - and his right hand gently slipped to her lovely bum as the left hand gently slipped into her ginger hair.  
"No,... splitting up," she breathed and purred.  
"No,... I'm still convinced that it was the right thing to do back then," he breathed and let his left hand run through her hair as his right hand caressed her luscious bum. "Nevertheless, I am now incredibly happy about our love comeback," he muttered against her head. "Do you regret it?"  
"I don't regret it either," she whispered. "It was the right thing to do, but I am indescribably happy about our comeback," she murmured and kissed the crook of his neck. "Hmm, you still taste the same."  
She kissed the crook of his neck again, then took a deep breath, felt incredibly safe with him. 

Martin cuddled his button nose into her hair, breathed in her scent, kissed her ginger hair. His left hand run through her hair again, his right hand still caressed her bum very innocently.  
"You too... ", he purred.  
He enjoyed her warmth, enjoyed her closeness, enjoyed the way she snuggled and cuddled with him, enjoyed smelling, tasting and feeling her hair, enjoyed feeling her luscious and handsome butt. 

They were silent, not even listening to the music of Mario Cart. 

Leila just snuggled and cuddled with Martin while thinking about him.  
She enjoyed his closeness, could still feel what it had felt like back then – what it had felt like to be hugged by him, to be cuddled by him, to kiss him and be kissed by him; what it had felt like to have sex with him.  
She still felt the tingling and sparkling in her body that she had felt deep inside her as soon as she had been with Martin back then - it had been a soft tingling, warm and comfortable.

She had felt very safe with him; she had felt extremely loved and appreciated.  
She felt deeply loved and appreciated again; she felt very safe with him again.  
The tingling in her body was so warm and comfortable because of his presence again.  
The kissing, the lovemaking, the caressing felt as amazing as it did back then.  
It felt extremely familiar, and above all very harmonious.  
Leila loosened one arm, let the hand caress down Martin's body – the hand slipped slowly and gently beneath his sweater.  
She felt warm naked skin - she heard a purr.  
Her hand caressed across his soft flat tummy, caressed to his chest, stayed there - his chest was warm, and she felt a bit of chest hair, which hadn't been palpable back then; she liked the feeling.  
The sweater had slipped up a bit.  
She could cuddle like this for the rest of her life.

Martin had closed his eyes and was also deep down in his thoughts about Leila.  
His hand caressed gently from her bum to her back, slipped tenderly under her sweater, caressed gently over her naked warm skin.  
His fingertips caressed her lumbar spine.  
He cuddled his face into her hair - he loved the smell of her hair, had loved it back then too.  
He fondled her naked skin on her back, heard her purr and sigh - she had loved these caresses back then too.  
It felt fantastic to feel her this close, while his heart was beating joyfully, while the butterflies in his belly danced happily, while his whole body was tingling and giving him goose bumps, while he felt the soft knees.  
He was on cloud nine.  
He had always liked and loved being in love, but he especially liked and loved being in love with Leila.  
His lips breathed a kiss into her long hair.  
His body sent feelings of happiness into every cell; his body loved the feeling of contentment and happiness, of security and warmth, of safety and affection.  
He felt completely happy and contented, much more than in the last several years and decades.  
He actually did not regret the break-up, but he could not help but develop a feeling that told him very clearly that he had missed her indescribably as a girlfriend in the last years. 

They breathed in deeply, had closed their eyes, enjoyed the closeness of the other, held and cuddled each other, protected each other, warmed each other with love and security.

A smile appeared on Martin's face.  
Back then, he had asked her shyly whether she wanted to be his girlfriend – back then on the 17th of September 1986.  
He opened his eyes.

Wait a minute…

The 17th of September had been their anniversary.  
Today was the 17th of September! - he was very sure of that, after all he had already wished his eldest niece a Happy Birthday this morning during a phone call.  
He blinked.

"Leila..."  
"Martin...?"  
"Do you know what day it is?"  
"Probably the best day of the year, and… Tuesday," she murmured smiling into the crook of his neck.  
A smile appeared on his face.  
"I meant the date, Honey."  
"I don't know, Baby," she muttered, then kissed him in the crook of his neck. She slowly raised her head, kissed him on the cheek. "Why do you ask?"  
Martin looked into her eyes, smiled.  
"Because I just realised that today is the 17th of September."

Leila's eyes grew bigger, she looked at him in astonishment.  
"Really? Are you sure?"  
"Quite sure. I called Helen this morning to wish her a Happy Birthday, and she didn't complain that I called her too late and she didn’t laugh because I called too early," he smiled. "Today is September the 17th. It's evening, it's cosy, we're alone, ... we've only forgotten the tree house," he smiled.  
"This is crazy," she said, looking at him. "That's really crazy. The year has 365 days and we pick September the 17th of all days for our love comeback."  
"Fate," Martin winked. "We can start all over again – a very lovely and romantic second chance," he breathed softly.  
Leila smiled, leaned down a bit, breathed a kiss on his nose.  
"Have you ever noticed that this date is also our birthday?"  
Martin wrinkled his forehead.

"What do you mean?"  
"Well, 17.09. ... one plus seven is eight – so it is 08.09,… you were born on 08.09.; in American English, the month is the first thing to say, so my birthday would be written down as 08.09. too," she grinned.  
"This makes it fucking creepy," Martin grinned.  
Leila laughed.  
"A second ago, you thought it was romantic that we confessed our love today."  
"It was very romantic!... Until you came up with your weird calculation, Leila!" Martin grinned.  
Once again, Leila laughed. 

She wiggled her eyebrows, poked his nose with hers, kissed his lips with a firm kiss.  
"Don't come up with a silly idea in four years," she murmured against his slightly rough lips.  
Martin closed his eyes with relish.  
"You shouldn't dare do think about something stupid in four years either," Martin murmured against her lips.  
And then he breathed a loving kiss on her soft lips.

Gently, his lips kissed hers.  
Gently, his teeth nibbled at her lower lip.  
Gently, his tongue licked across her lips, he seduced her to an intimate and tender dance of their tongues.


	10. May I... ?

_**\- Saturday, March/28 - 1987, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, House of the Chaplin Family, Tree House -** _

** Flashback **

The battery-operated lamps in the tree house didn’t point in the direction of the large mattress with the cosy blanket and the many cosy cushions - they pointed into the larger area of the tree house, giving the sleeping area in the cockpit only diffuse but soft romantic light.

It was Saturday, the 28th of March 1987. 

Spring was coming; the days had become warmer and warmer during the last week – and today they had been able to enjoy the warm sun and a temperature of 24 degrees.  
The temperature had dropped from 24 degrees to 16 degrees, but it was no longer afternoon, but 8 o’clock in the evening.  
It was dark outside, but the cockpit in the tree house was illuminated with diffuse and soft romantic light. 

They had the house to themselves, not only for Leila, but also for Martin, because their parents were on a birthday they hadn’t wanted to go to - just old and boring people, they had argued.  
They would be able to enjoy their time probably until late into the night, because not only the woman whose birthday it was enjoyed celebrating, but also Leila's parents, as well as Martin's mother and stepfather. 

Of course, Martin was with Leila, but their parents knew it. 

Why should they spend the evening separately when their parents were gone?  
They wouldn’t have done that while just being best friends.  
And of course, they didn't do it now while being a couple – for six months and a few days now, they were not only enjoying their friendship but also their romantically relationship.  
However, today was the first time that they were all by themselves for the whole evening, or rather the whole evening and probably almost the whole night as well. 

Martin was lying next to Leila; he had adjusted the lamps so they would illuminate the cockpit soft and romantically.  
He wanted to take advantage of the fact that their parents were gone for the evening and the night – he wanted to enjoy more with Leila than kisses, cuddles, snuggles, holding hands and caresses tonight.  
The 15-year-old boy was still madly in love with Leila, and even though he was extremely nervous, he wanted to try to take a step forward tonight. Of course, he wouldn’t do anything Leila didn’t want to exchange, feel or share with him, but at least, he wanted to try it, because he really wanted to exchange more intimate touches with her.

So far they had kissed a lot, cuddled a lot, snuggled and hugged a lot; they had held hands a lot, they had also exchanged many caresses, but always dressed – tonight he wanted to feel her naked body, tonight he wanted to kiss, cuddle, snuggle, hug and caress her bare skin; tonight he wanted to have sex with her.

Martin put his hand on Leila's upper arm, caressed along her arm with his fingertips, caressed to her hand.  
Slowly, he caressed from her hand to her hip, kissed her nose and murmured,  
"May I take off your T-shirt?", the voice was soft and polite, sounded nervous, but also tender and calm.  
Leila looked at him with warm eyes, trusted him deeply - she nodded.  
"You may take off my T-shirt."  
Martin smiled – his heart raced hard and nervously against his ribcage.  
"May I take off more than your t-shirt, and may I touch and kiss you?" he asked in a calm and young voice, already warm and nasal.  
Leila smiled nervously but nodded again - she too wanted to try much more than these innocent kisses and touches, and which day would suit better than today.  
"Yes."  
"If you no longer want this just tell me and I'll stop," he promised her with a nervous but tender voice. "And you may undress and touch and kiss me, too - … if you want to."  
"I trust you, Martin," she said softly and nervously.  
Martin smiled at her – he was excited.

Slowly, he took off her T-shirt.  
Slowly, he unzipped her trousers and took them off.  
He helped her nervously with his T-shirt.  
He also helped her nervously with his trousers. 

They looked at each other nervously and excitedly - just kneeling on the mattress in their underwear.  
They had seen each other naked when they had been much younger, but now it was something completely different, not only were they older and had grown up, but they also were very much in love with each other and about to experience their first sexual intercourse.

Martin took her face in both hands, knowing that she liked it while he was kissing her - his lips captured hers, kissed her gently and timidly.  
Leila put one hand on his neck, let her fingers softly tickle over his neck, suddenly elicited an enjoyable purr from him.  
And when Martin released the kiss and she looked at him, she recognised the red cheeks and red glowing ears despite the diffuse and soft romantic light.  
Once again she fondled over his neck, crawling into his blond hair at the back of his head - there was a purr again, a purr and a sigh; and not only that, goose bumps spread all over his body and he shivered pleasantly. 

"That's… amazing…," Martin muttered shyly, let his fingertips run over Leila's arm, over her hand, and gently onto her naked tummy.  
Leila shivered with relish, thinking that it was very pleasant and sweet that he was tender and gentle, shy and timid - for she had already heard from two of her friends that their boyfriends had been quite quick and demanding, imperious and rough.  
She liked it very much that he was timid and shy, gentle and tender, that he was sensitive and attentive, that he paid attention to her and her reactions, that he was just extremely sweet and soft.  
She liked it very much that he had asked her if he was allowed to undress and to touch her.  
"I like what you do." Leila murmured excitedly.  
She looked at him, beamed nervously hat Martin, who wasn’t wearing anything but his dark underpants – gosh, he was utterly handsome.

Martin smiled at her, leaned forward, kissed her cheek, let his fingertips caress her back, let the fingertips dance and scratch across her back - he knew she liked to be caressed and fondled on her back.  
He had already talked to a friend, who had already slept with his girlfriend – and that friend had told him that they had been making out quite vigorously and wildly, that they had enjoyed a heavy petting, and then it had just happened, but that it had ended rather quickly, at least for him.  
He didn't feel like making out vigorously and wildly, didn’t feel like having a heavy petting; he didn’t want to grope her, especially because he knew that Leila didn't like it either.  
He wanted to enjoy their first petting and hopefully much more; he wanted to take his time - he wanted it to be simply amazing and extraordinary for both of them.  
Of course, he also wanted to finally know what it felt like to have sex with a girl, what the orgasm felt like with a girl, but he admitted to himself that he was extremely nervous and excited - and he didn't want to spoil it by rushing through it with vigorously kisses and groping touches and an unromantically intercourse.  
He rather wanted to make love to her.  
He looked at her, beamed nervously and shyly at Leila, who was kneeling in front of him with nothing more than her bra and panties – gosh, she was utterly beautiful.

His fingers caressed her back while he felt her fingertips on his upper body.  
He shivered pleasantly because it was simply amazing to feel her fingers on his naked skin; he felt her shivering too, felt her goose bumps as well.  
His lips kissed her lips, her nose, her cheek, even kissed her neck and her ear - and with that he elicited a purr from her. 

They were still kneeling in front of each other.  
They were looking at each other again – with red glowing ears and red glowing cheeks. 

Leila closed her eyes as his lips kissed her ear again, as his lips kissed her neck, as he gently and timidly, tentatively and tenderly sucked at her neck.  
Her two friends had told her that their first sexual intercourse hadn't been that great, and that they didn’t understand all the fuss about it - she for her part already loved it; it was absolutely pleasant and fantastic so far; she absolutely loved what he was doing and the way he was doing it.  
His lips kissed her neck down to her shoulder, kissed her Adam's apple, kissed her chin, then kissed her collarbone and her other shoulder.  
Leila purred again, even sighed – she flushed all over again.  
She was extremely excited. 

Martin enjoyed kissing her, enjoyed feeling her caress on his upper body. He kissed up to her ear once again, kissed it and then whispered something into it, not knowing that this was a rather seductive and intimate gesture.  
"May I take off your bra?" He asked whisperingly - his fingers were already on her bra clasp.  
"Please... " she murmured. "I trust you,... I… I trust you deeply, Martin. I’ll say something if I want you to stop or if I’m not fond of what you are doing."  
"Okay... ", Martin breathed into her ear – his voice was extremely warm and tender. His fingers tried to open Leila’s bra clasp; his fingers were shaking. The heart raced faster, he got more nervous, his fingers were shaking even more, didn’t want to work as he wanted them to work. He swallowed. "I'm… I’m too nervous," he admitted sincerely, his ears and cheeks glowing.  
"I’m… I’m nervous too, Martin," she breathed with an agitated voice, kissing him on the cheek. "Shall I help you, or do you want to try it again?" she asked him - actually thought it was quite lovely that they undressed each other.  
Martin breathed a kiss on her ear, took a deep breath, closed his eyes briefly, tried to calm down his fingers and heart - he wanted to undress her, because he also thought it was quite lovely that they undressed each other and thus took time to get used to each other.

The bra clasp opened when he tried it again – gently, the fingers caressed the straps from her shoulders.

Slowly, he put the bra aside, then slowly pressed her down onto the mattress, looking into her eyes.  
The hand laid on her cheek; he knelt above her – he swallowed.  
The eyes moved to her lips, to her neck - the hand followed, or rather the fingertips.  
His eyes wandered further down, wandered to her collarbone, so did his fingers; her cheeks became redder as the eyes looked deeper – he swallowed again, licked his lips.  
His eyes wandered down her collarbone, seeing her bare décolleté – he had seen her in her bikini quite often, and gosh she was so beautiful, but nevertheless he blushed all over again as he swallowed and licked his lips.  
His eyes slowly wandered down even further, seeing her bare small but well-shaped breasts.  
The ears became a bright glowing red, the cheeks as well, and again he licked his lips involuntarily.  
He wasn’t staring at her, but rather examining her with a very gentle and warm look, with very tender and soft blue eyes.  
He swallowed as his fingers caressed gently and carefully across the soft and warm skin of her right bosom.  
He bit his lower lip. 

Leila couldn’t help but sigh.  
She had massive goose bumps all over her body.  
She didn’t feel exposed but surprisingly comfortable, although she showed herself to him like that for the very first time since she became a teenager - it was probably his extremely gentle and warm manner and his extremely tender and soft blue eyes that simply caused a pleasant tingling in her.  
It was amazing to be touched by him - and she quite loved the red ears and cheeks.  
She looked at him, eyed his soft and cute face - the blue adoring eyes, the button nose, the thin and beautifully curved lips, over which his tongue licked again; gosh, he was just gobsmacking cute, a gorgeous beauty, and incredibly handsome.  
Her eyes closed as he bent down.  
She felt his lips on her collarbone, felt his lips kissing her cleavage. 

Martin's tummy was tingling like mad; if his heartbeat had been examined in the hospital, he would probably have been hospitalized for observation; his whole body was tingling; he felt arousal and lust for her, felt his throbbing and attention screaming erection.  
He wanted to make love to her tonight - in his fantasies, alone under the blanket, he had imagined it several times before, but now she lay beneath him and he was kissing her bare décolleté, her bare skin.  
Touching himself and jerking off was different from having sex with a girl; he didn't want to do anything wrong, or rather, he didn't want to hurt her; he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable; he wanted her to have fun with him, to enjoy it, to love it.  
Slowly, he kissed down to her breasts, hesitated but couldn’t resist any longer - his lips kissed her right well-shaped bosom.

He heard no purr; he heard no sigh - he heard her moan.  
He felt her hands in his blond hair, felt the fingers playing with his hair, felt the other fingers scratching and crawling, and tickling and fondling his neck.  
He sighed and purred like a cat - and without him controlling it himself, his kisses on her breast suddenly became even more timid and gentle, even more tender and loving; suddenly he felt an even stronger tingling, even more goose bumps; suddenly he felt that she could do anything with him right now. 

Leila put her head in her neck.  
"Ooohhh… Martin,… that’s amazing! It's great to be kissed by you… exactly there," Leila murmured.  
Martin nestled his face against her naked skin, caressed her, kissed her, had the feeling of melting away under her crawling fingers - but how could he communicate that?  
"I don't know what you're doing to me right now, but please don't ever stop playing with my hair and crawling my neck ever again," he murmured against her right bosom.  
Leila smiled and didn't intend to stop because his blond hair just felt fantastically soft and fluffy. 

Martin's caresses not only treated Leila's right bosom but also her left one, as well as her tummy. He distributed kisses, even dared to suck on the skin of her flat belly with his heart pounding hard - and since he could make her purr and groan again, he even dared to bite gently into the soft skin of her right bosom on the way back, before he kissed it as sweet as sugar and rubbed his nose over the spot.  
Martin raised his head, his cheeks red again, his ears as well - he had just heard Leila's sighing and moaning. 

Lying on the mattress and the blanket, Leila actually felt extremely good and comfortable - she would love to feel and enjoy these kisses and caresses all night long. Just as much as everything else he had tried when he had become more courageous - like the gentle sucking and nibbling, like the tender biting and rubbing her bare skin with his nose.  
It was simply extraordinary what he was doing and exploring and that he was very attentive to her reactions to everything he was doing - she could sense that he wasn’t only concerned about his own pleasure, but that he was trying hard to get to know her body and what she liked and loved and wanted to feel.  
She couldn’t feel cosier and more comfortable; she couldn’t feel more secure and safe – so far it had never been a mistake to trust him deeply and unconditionally.

Martin looked down, felt his throbbing and attention screaming erection even more clearly now - he had enjoyed caressing her very much; and he could have gone on with it for hours and hours just to kiss every little spot of her entire body, if the desire and craving for making love to her would’ve been more bearable.  
If he would be lying in his bed right now, all by himself, he would’ve already wrapped his hand around his cock, jerking off slowly and savouring every moment while thinking about her.  
He needed her – he needed to feel her tonight; hopefully, she was up for it, too.

"I… Leila,… I'd really love… I… may… I… ” he swallowed. “I’m so nervous, I’m sorry,” he swallowed again. “May I make love to you?” his warm voice finally asked.  
"I... I'd... I'd really love making love with you, Martin," Leila murmured nervously, smiling inside her head since she thought it was quite adorable that he called it making love instead of giving it another name; since she thought it was quite adorable that he was this nervous, that he apologised for it.

The blue in Martin's eyes sparkled.  
He bent down, kissed her lips once.  
"Wait a minute... ", he muttered.  
His lips met her nose, then he knelt down again.  
He slid to the end of the huge mattress, put his hand into his backpack, rummaged through it.

And when he turned back to her, he held a condom in his hand.  
Leila smiled at him; Martin rubbed his neck, bit his lower lip.  
"Is it bad that I took them with me?" he asked insecurely as he slid closer.  
"No,... I'm glad you thought of it. I am extremely nervous and excited about it, too. But I couldn’t feel cosier or more comfortable right now. I would love to make love with you tonight. I… I wanted to make a step forward tonight, too. We'll probably be alone all night and won't have to worry about getting caught, it’s like the perfect night. It's just lovely and shows so much matureness that you thought of protection."  
Martin took a deep breath – he was relieved.  
"Good. I don't want you to think that the only thing I wanted tonight was to seduce you. It’s really not like this,… it’s not just about this tonight. I mean of course, I want to finally make to love you, but If you don’t wai…”  
Leila interrupted him.  
"You're thinking too much again," she smiled sweetly and needed to grin - his comment took away much of her nervousness, because it was such a typical Martin reaction. "You are sweet and adorable, Martin. Come here. It's simply amazing what's happening right now, and I'd like to continue enjoying this with you," she said softly. "It’s not too fast or anything. I liked that we took our time, after all we've been a couple for half a year now, ... and it's also lovely that you’re giving us so much time right now to get used to each other and everything that’s new right now."  
Martin slid closer, put the wrapped condom next to her - he smiled, proud of himself, but he also needed to grin.  
"Well,… you know me…", he grinned softly - and most of his nervousness disappeared. 

They grinned at each other, then smiled at each other.

Martin's eyes looked at her, looked at her body.  
His hands reached out to her shoulders; he caressed over her shoulders, over her décolleté, over her bosoms, down to her tummy.  
Slowly, he brushed his hands across her thighs and between her legs, feeling her wet panties – he swallowed, slowly brushing the panties off her hips, gently pulled them off.  
He bit his lower lip, then chewed on it, then licked his lips.  
His heart hyperventilated; he pulled his own shorts down himself.  
The excitement rose again, but he didn't feel uncomfortable kneeling naked in front of her, on the contrary, he felt quite comfortable and safe. 

He chewed on his lower lip, took the condom, stretched his hand out to Leila - hesitantly.  
"Can you put it on me?" he asked - cheeks red again, ears too.  
He had practised it, he was able to do it, but he wanted to feel Leila's fingers on his erection. 

With a shy smile, Leila took the wrapped condom.  
She opened it, laid the package aside, sat up, looked into his blue eyes before she looked down to his erection – she swallowed, licked her lips and nervously rolled the condom over his erection.  
She heard a very deep inhalation and a purring moan.  
Her eyes lifted her gaze; she bit her lower lip, looked into his aroused eyes, was extremely close to him. 

Martin nudged her nose with his.  
He had always been able to bring down the nervousness as soon as he had kissed her lips, and so he captured her lips again and kissed his girlfriend gently and lovingly, tenderly and charmingly.  
The slender pale body of the 15-year-old boy sank into bed and thus also pressed Leila back onto the mattress.  
One hand lay against her cheek, the other found Leila's hand.  
He intertwined their fingers, pressed her hand into the mattress next to her head, supported himself with it and sought support and security. 

Leila had tucked up her legs, had spread them, was feeling him between her legs; she enjoyed his kiss and the hand on her cheek, enjoyed how he held her hand - she squeezed his hand, felt safe and secure, comfortable and cosy with him.  
Her heart was beating loudly, but the calm and loving kiss calmed her down.  
Gently and calmly she let her tongue dance with his.

Martin lowered his hip - slowly.  
He enjoyed the kiss but had to release it when he suddenly felt her most intimate part against the extremely sensitive tip of his erection.  
He leaned his forehead against hers, closed his eyes when he felt her left hand on his neck.  
The 15-year-old paused briefly, giving them both time to get used to this very new feeling and to calm down their heartbeats.  
But then he slowly and tenderly slipped in.  
He heard her purr, felt her tense up, paused briefly, heard himself purring and sighing. 

Slowly he slipped in deeper as she relaxed beneath him, but he stopped when she tensed up again.

She smiled, enjoying the slow penetration, enjoying the feeling of it, enjoying the closeness - it was breathtaking, new, but breathtakingly beautiful.  
It hurt a bit, but Martin was so tender and gentle that it was more than just bearable - and on top of that she was quite wet, because the kisses, the caressing and the other soft touches, as well as Martin's loving nature had aroused her very much.  
She squeezed his hand, ran the other hand into his hair, needed to groan as he moved his hips slowly – gosh this felt so much better than she had expected it to be.

Martin raised his head, looked down, looked deeply into her eyes - his mouth was open, a groan escaped him; he squeezed her hand while the thumb of the other hand caressed her cheek.  
He could barely put into words how good it felt to feel her this way; he could barely put into words how much he enjoyed his first sexual encounter - and he could not imagine anyone better than Leila to experience that part of life for the very first time. 

Slowly he moved his hips, very gently and tenderly - the hip movements were certainly not perfect and still a bit awkward, but he was gentle and very tender, testing what he and she liked, getting better, getting a better rhythm.  
The feeling of being inside her and making love to her was a thousand, if not a trillion times better than just jerking off. 

They smiled at each other, squeezed their hands.  
Martin caressed her cheek.  
Leila crawled his neck - whereupon he snuggled up more to her body, whereupon he purred even more, whereupon his gaze became dreamier and gentler, and even goose bumps were spreading all over his body.  
They smiled at each other, squeezed their hands again.

Martin shivered pleasantly, snuggled closer to her again - what was she doing to him?  
Leila looked at him – her eyes clearly showed that she was very much in love with him. She enjoyed these soft movements, enjoyed the tingling in her body, enjoyed that her boyfriend was this close to her - apparently the crawling was something he enjoyed more than just quite a lot.

They got braver.

Leila now moved her hips and together they searched for a faster and more intense rhythm.  
Their mouths were open, they moaned and purred a little more, no longer ashamed of these noises.  
They still looked at each other, looked into their dreamy and lustful eyes.  
The nervousness had gone, the lust and the strong tingling became stronger and more intense.  
Their hearts were pounding like mad against their ribcage.

Leila’s hand slipped into the hair at the back of his head; she pushed him down, captured his lips, kissed him longingly, purred and sighed into her kiss.  
Martin moaned into the kiss, then sighed and joined her kiss – the sensation around his erection was amazing as well as the sensation of her naked body against his naked body and her lips on his lips.  
He squeezed her hand, let his right hand slide off her cheek, the arm slipped under her neck, so he was able to snuggle up even more.  
Leila rolled her eyes behind closed lids - his erection felt fantastic, the lovemaking with him felt amazing, so much more beautiful than she had expected after these stories of her friends. It was heavenly to have Martin this close and naked and to make love with him. It was just breathtaking that he was this tender and gentle, this loving and soft. She felt very safe with him, extremely comfortable and overly secure - she trusted him blindly, and she knew she could.  
Martin purred into the kiss, enjoyed the dancing and playing of their tongues, enjoyed feeling her naked skin underneath him, enjoyed making love to her, enjoyed the stimulation around his erection. He loved Leila very much, enjoyed sharing these caresses with her for the very first time, enjoyed hearing her moan and purr and sigh, because it showed him that she liked it.

The tingly and lustful feeling in their bodies suddenly overwhelmed them very much - it became incredibly intense; that feeling was rushing through their whole body.  
They both knew this feeling from their alone time under the blanket, but they had never felt it this intense and strong before.  
The orgasm rushed inexorably through their bodies.

Martin squeezed Leila's hand, felt that she also held on to him, felt her grabbing his hair, felt her arching her back as her thighs trembled massively.  
He released the kiss, heard not only himself moaning loudly but also Leila as they reached their orgasm at the same time.

"Leila!" The warm nasal voice moaned.  
"Martin!" The pleasant female voice moaned. 

"Leila... ", Martin purred as his climax calmed down a little bit, as he felt that soft tickle in his hair and on his neck again.  
"Martin... ", Leila purred as Martin snuggled up to her, as he lay on top of her, as his thumb caressed her hand, as his arm under her neck cuddled her sweetly, as his lips kissed her cheek in a very adorable way.

Instinctively, Martin rolled over the mattress until Leila lay on top of him.  
He released their hands, grabbed the blanket, pulled it over Leila and himself, pulled it far enough over Leila and himself so that they both disappeared completely under the blanket.

It was dark under the blanket, and it was warm under the blanket.  
Their eyes had not yet become accustomed to the darkness - they couldn't see that the other was beaming up to their ears, but they could feel it. 

Martin hugged her gently; his heart skipped a beat; he put one hand in her hair; he felt extremely satisfied; he felt a kiss on his cheek.  
Leila nestled her face against Martin's cheek; her heart skipped a beat; she gave him a second kiss - she felt more than fantastic.

"That was amazing," she breathed - extremely happy about her first sexual intercourse with Martin.  
"I enjoyed it very much too. It was awesome," Martin whispered - also extremely happy with his first sexual intercourse with Leila.

He hugged her, cuddled her, snuggled his naked body against hers.  
"I like you," he breathed. "I really do like you a lot," he muttered and kissed her hair. "I love you, Leila," he muttered with a tingly feeling of happiness.  
Leila cuddled up to him, cuddling her face against his cheek, feeling her belly tingle and her heart race, which his dear and loving words triggered.  
"I love you too, Martin," she murmured against his cheek before kissing it.

Hidden under the blanket they both smiled happily.


	11. Hidden

_**\- Wednesday, September/18 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Hidden under the blanket they both smiled happily.

They had left the Super Nintendo, Mario Cart and the banana peels behind.  
Their love comeback was much better than having fun while playing Super Nintendo - their love comeback didn't run away from them, but why should they sit next to each other playing Mario Cart, chasing each other across a playing field as Mario and Peach when they could kiss and enjoy their fresh love hidden under the blanket?

Hidden under the blanket they both smiled happily.

A few minutes ago, they had gone upstairs, into the bed and under the blanket - almost an hour ago, to put it bluntly.  
And in that one hour they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other – they had cuddled, snuggled, caressed and kissed and they had made love with each other again.  
They had been very aroused again, they had quite missed each other, they had longed for each other, but here in bed, they had been able to enjoy making love to each other to the fullest - every single long second for lots of minutes with lots of snuggles, cuddles, kisses and caresses for every little part of the body. Truth be told, during the last hour they had been quite busy with each other.  
After all these years they had harmonised as if they hadn’t enjoyed these caresses for the last time a little more than 28 years ago, but just a little more than 28 hours ago.

Hidden under the blanket they both smiled happily.

Martin had wrapped his arms around Leila, breathed a kiss on her nose.  
He had enjoyed the caresses and tenderness massively, had enjoyed feeling her naked body, her bare skin – feeling her, tasting her.  
And it just felt damn good and damn right.  
After their breakup on the 24th of February in 1991, he never would have thought that there would ever be a love comeback.  
Now he could hardly believe that this had ever been a thought in his head. 

Leila let the tip of her nose circle over his button nose when she couldn't feel his lips on the tip of her nose anymore.  
She still felt all his gentle caresses and tenderness, had enjoyed every single one of them very much, had enjoyed every single second, had enjoyed feeling and tasting him again after all these years.  
And it had felt almost more beautiful than in her memories.  
It felt fantastic to be in love with him all over again, and to be loved by him all over again. 

Hidden under the blanket they both smiled happily.

Martin loosened one arm, pulled the blanket off their heads, pulled the blanket down, even uncovered Leila's back.  
He sucked in the air - it had become quite hot, hidden and snuggled up under the blanket.  
The grey hair looked sweaty, but that wasn't just because of the cuddling hidden under the blanket; the cheeks were red, the skin heated.  
His fingertips caressed her naked back very delicately; the fingertips breathed delicately over the heated skin. 

Goose bumps.

Leila shivered pleasantly, breathed a kiss on his cheek.  
She nestled her cheek against his, smiled - she felt good, extremely good, all over her body and in every vein and fibre.  
She let her cheek rub over Martin's bearded cheek, enjoyed feeling his beard on her soft and tender skin.  
Her eyes were closed, her naked body nestled against Martin's warm naked body. 

Smiling with closed eyes, Martin enjoyed the rubbing cheek on his beard.  
The fingertips still caressed tenderly over Leila's back.  
The fingertips of his right hand caressed the naked back.  
The fingertips of the left hand played with Leila's hair.  
He turned his head to the side for a moment, breathed a kiss on Leila's cheek before he let her cuddle with his cheek again. 

"You feel amazing on my body, against my lips..." Martin whispered. "…and very familiar," he breathed and sniffed her hair. "And you still smell the same."  
Leila smiled, turned her head, pressed a firm kiss on his bearded cheek.  
She kissed along his cheek, kissed up to his temple, kissed to his hairline, buried her nose in it - sniffed at him too.  
"Hmm, you smell the same, too – I love the way you smell," she whispered. She pressed a kiss into his grey hair. "I've enjoyed your tenderness very much,... on the couch as well, and so I did back then," she murmured into his hair. 

She lifted her head, looked down at Martin, who smiled at her gently - the blue eyes were shining and sparkling; the fingertips of his right hand were crawling her lumbar spine; the fingers of his left hand were playing with the red strands.  
He lifted his head from the pillow, captured her tender lips - lovingly kissing Leila, his right hand caressed along her spine, over her shoulder and onto her cheek; his thumb stroked gently back and forth.  
The left hand lay against the back of her head. 

Their lips kissed gently.

Martin sucked on her lower lip, bit gently into it, kissed her devotedly - a sigh escaped his throat; he enjoyed her lips immensely, had already loved to kiss her back then and still enjoyed it very much.  
Leila let him take the lead, but returned his kiss, enjoying it and relishing it; her hands dug into his hair, grasping gently.

Gently and tenderly, their tongues danced with each other as they rolled through the bed - Leila no longer lay on top of him but beneath him. 

Gently, Martin loosened his lips, nibbled gently on her lower lip, then kissed it gently. The tip of his nose nudged at Leila's nose - and then he raised his head. 

Leila smiled dreamily, raised her hand, caressed through his grey hair.  
"It's crazy," she beamed, stroking through his hair again. "In the last few months, I've been wishing very much to exchange all of this with you again - cuddling, snuggling kissing, tenderness, love, sex. You have been missing a lot these last months - as a partner in life," she admitted.  
Martin beamed with sparkling blue eyes, which glistened like the sea in the sun.  
"I've enjoyed being your best friend these past few months, but I've missed you a lot anyway, because it wasn't enough just to be your best friend. I missed you a lot - and every day, I hoped to make you fall in love with me all over again," he said honestly. "And it is awesome to kiss you again, to caress you again, to cuddle you again, to snuggle up to you again, to love you again and to make love to you again – and it’s as just gobsmacking beautiful to be kissed, cuddled, snuggled, loved and caressed by you again. It’s absolutely lovely."  
"Amazing," Leila outdo his comment with beaming eyes and a beating heart.  
"Gobsmacking," Martin winked with butterflies in his tummy.  
Leila smiled dreamily and let her hand run through Martin's grey hair again.

She let her fingers caress the back of his head, let her fingertips scratch his neck - he purred.  
A smile and grin settled on her lips.  
"It's fucking cute that you still love this so much."  
"That hasn't changed at all, not a little bit," he winked with a smile.  
"Your tenderness hasn't changed at all, either," she smiled and fondled gently at his neck. "It's been a long time but having sex with you for the first time had been and felt and tasted incredibly beautiful," her eyes sparkled. "I loved it a lot that you gave yourself and us enough time to get used to all these new touches and to get used to feel our naked bodies; I loved it a lot that you’ve been gentle and tender."  
Martin smiled, breathed a kiss on her nose.  
"You told me that back then," he said softly. "But as I said back then,... I also enjoyed it very much. Having sex with you for the very first time had been simply amazing and breathtaking," he breathed against her nose, kissed it again. "And the sex we just shared and the sex on the couch, had also been an amazing first time after all these years."  
Her fingers caressed his neck, making him purr over and over again.  
"Absolutely." Her eyes were shining, literally glowing – adoring him.

Martin bowed his head, rolled to the side with her; he pulled the blanket over both of them, covered them until only their heads stuck out.  
"Why are you beaming at me like that?" He asked in a warm voice.  
"Because you are quite pretty?" She asked the counter-question.  
"Because I'm quite pretty?", Martin repeated the question.  
Leila smiled and grinned, moved closer, put her arms around Martin.  
"Yes. The rather sweet, cute and adorable young Martin has become a very handsome and attractive man," she breathed against his ear. "Hot and sexy would also be very fitting, sweet and cute too, as well as just gobsmacking adorable," she whispered into his ear. " Gosh, you really became a gobsmacking beautiful man. I love the grey hair, and the beard, and the wrinkles and the bags under your eyes," she purred into his ear, which had turned as red as his cheeks.  
"Thank you," he muttered flatteringly. "But now stop these lovely and flattering compliments, you know I’m always having a hard time to accept them."  
Leila smiled.  
"Yeah, I know. You've never been able to, but you deserve all of them."  
"You deserve them too - all these compliments," Martin murmured, felt his heart beating fast and his tummy tingling massively.

It was nice to hear her compliments, especially when they were purred or mumbled into his ear; he felt flattered, could also kind of accept them gratefully - but that didn't mean he thought the same of himself.  
Still, it was lovely that Leila thought he was attractive and pretty, ... even hot and sexy, cute and sweet, and adorable.  
And he wondered, just like he wondered back then, how HE could call a woman like Leila HIS girlfriend.  
His girlfriend - his heart was racing again, almost hyperventilated.

She was his girlfriend again - it was almost unbelievable.  
It had already been unbelievable back then - not only because of her appearance, but also because of her personality; but the outward appearance was of course very obvious; and to call her gobsmacking beautiful was just a fucking huge understatement.

Leila didn't need to hear Martin say that he thought she was pretty and sexy, that he thought she was hot and attractive - his eyes showed it quite clearly, into which she looked and got lost all over again; it was like standing on the sandy beach looking into the glistening sea.  
The blue eyes showed quite clearly how much he was into her, how massively attracted he was to her appearance.  
She was very flattered.  
But even back then his eyes and words had flattered her very much - not only once had his eyes told her how pretty and beautiful she was, not only once had his voice told her how pretty and beautiful she was.  
Her heart raced faster as she looked into his deep blue eyes.  
Not knowing that he had wondered back then and now again why he of all people was allowed to call her his girlfriend, she was wondering why she of all people was allowed to call him her boyfriend.  
She had already asked herself exactly this back then - she hadn't expected that such a sweet and handsome, cute and adorable boy like him would fall in love with her.

Her boyfriend, he was her boyfriend again - how could a man like him fall in love with her?  
Her tummy was tingling, her heart was racing. 

Her eyes watched him, followed every single move.  
She enjoyed his kiss on her cheek.  
She enjoyed his kiss on her ear.  
Her eyes were closed.

"You were gobsmacking beautiful back then. And you are still as gobsmacking beautiful as all these years ago," he muttered lovingly. "You have become a stunningly attractive woman," he murmured. "Still very sweet and cute, but now also extremely sexy and hot," he purred and kissed her ear again. His nose rubbed across her ear; he breathed little kisses on her cheek. "You're an incredibly amazing and stunning woman, ... I mean your personality and appearance… " he muttered against her cheek, kissing her lips gently. "You've made me fall in love with you, honey,… like madly in love - I haven't been in love like this for a very long time," he breathed against her lips, then kissed her. "The last time I was this madly in love, I was able to kiss a girl with the same name as you, and to be honest, she just looked exactly like you do."

Leila let her hand gently run into Martin's hair, let her fingers run through the grey soft strands.  
Her heart beat hard and loud against her ribcage; it beat so hard against her ribcage that she heard her heartbeat in her ears as a whirring.  
His declarations of love had been incredibly beautiful even back then - she had always enjoyed it when he had told her that he loved her.  
She had loved the first declaration of love, had loved the declaration of love on the couch, and this declaration of love right now was also simply amazing.  
He had just told her that he had never loved any woman as much as he had loved her.

"Crazy thing is, just once in my entire life I've been as madly in love as I am right now. You have absolutely turned my head around. And the boy... who made me fall madly in love with him, was called Martin too and could easily be your young twin," she murmured against his lips. 

They smiled at each other's lips.

Martin snuggled up to her.  
He put his face into the crook of her neck, wrapped his arms around her.  
To hear that he had been her big love, ... and apparently still was, made his heart race violently against his ribcage, made his tummy tingle like hell and even made his knees soft.  
Martin cuddled up to the love of his youth, to his big love, to the love of his life, and to the woman with whom he just enjoyed a love comeback.

Leila cuddled her cheek on his head, put her arms around Martin, put one leg between his, closed her eyes with a wildly beating heart.  
Who would have thought that this friendly dinner invitation would end like this?  
She felt safe, she felt comfortable, she felt warm and relaxed, sleepy and secure, loved and wanted.  
She could hardly put into words how happy she felt right now.  
It was fantastic to be reunited again, to be a oneness again, to be a we again - with her best friend, with the love of her youth, with her big love, with the love of her life, with that fantastic man who, even as a teenager, had suddenly turned her head around with just a charming smile. 

"I love you, honey..." Martin whispered in a warm voice. 

His hand rubbed her bare back, his lips kissed the crook of her neck. Warmly, he kissed the skin on Leila's neck; warmly, he rubbed her naked back.

"And I love you, baby..." Leila purred in a pleasant voice.

Her hand lay against the back of his head, her lips were kissing his hair. Her fingertips played with his strands, her nose sucked in his scent deeply and intensely. 

Tenderness was exchanged in a very cuddly and snuggly way.


	12. Worse Than Two Teenagers in Love

_**\- Wednesday, September/18 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Martin arched his back and pressed his head into the pillow - he moaned and groaned.  
His hands rubbed across Leila's bare thighs, across her warm skin - he grabbed her buttocks. He massaged her luscious bum, before his hands run up her back with soft pressure; his hands caressed across her back, across her shoulders, to her décolleté - his hands cupped her bosoms with relish.

They had woken up some time ago – cuddling quite innocently, they had started their morning in bed, but the innocent and goose bumps causing caressing, as well as the sweet kisses, had turned into lust, arousal and passion very quickly. 

"Leila," Martin moaned with relish.

Charmingly, Leila was riding Martin - she enjoyed the moaning, enjoyed the sex, enjoyed the passion and lust and arousal.  
She purred and moaned, put her head in her neck, supported herself on his chest.  
It was breathtaking to have sex with him - and even though it felt fantastic back then, it felt even better now.

They had exchanged this kind of love several times in the last few hours - on the sofa, when they had gone to bed, right now after waking up,... and in the middle of the night.  
In the middle of the night, they had both woken up – they had just cuddled and snuggled up into each other arms.  
But then, one thing had led to another, and they had enjoyed making love in a spooning position. 

While they had enjoyed making love sleepily and snuggly in the middle of the night, now it was quite hot - passion and lust sparkled between them.

Martin licked his lips.  
His body was tingling, his head was out of order, he had the feeling he could feel her all over his body, but she was just sitting on him, riding him delightfully and teasingly, caressing his chest.  
His fingers rubbed her nipples, his hands massaged her bosoms, eliciting a loud and pleasurable groan.  
His eyes were closed, the head still pressed into the pillow, the lust for Leila enormous as if he hadn't felt this kind of closeness three times in the last few hours. 

"Martin... ", Leila's groaned loudly and lustfully. 

She bent down - her hands slipped off Martin's chest, her lips were capturing Martin's, kissing him passionately.  
She felt his right hand move into her hair, felt him grab her long ginger hair and bury his hand in it.  
She felt his left hand caressing her back, felt his hand caressing her bum, felt him teasingly grabbing between her legs in an uninhibited, charming and adorable way - and every time her hip rose, she rubbed her clitoris against his fingers.  
The moan was smothered in her own kiss.

She shivered massively and pleasantly, made her hips circle even more passionately – Martin was joining her; his moans were smothered in her kiss.  
Goose bumps had spread all over her body - a huge tingling sensation rushed through every vein and fibre, but she still maintained her self-control, she didn’t want this to end right now. 

The hungry French kiss harmonized passionately.  
Passionately, their hungry lust harmonized.  
Passionately, they harmonized in every movement and touch. 

Even after all these years they still knew what the other one liked, what turned the other one on, what made the other one even hotter and hornier - and apparently nothing had changed in all these years; their sexual preferences and erogenous zones hadn’t changed at all. 

They worked like a clockwork.

Passionately and tenderly, playfully and teasingly, they skilfully brought each other closer to the edge.  
Playfully and teasingly, passionately and tenderly, they made each other even hotter and hornier by consciously playing with each other's preferences and erogenous zones. 

Their moans were loud and joyful, probably audible in the whole house. 

Martin bit her lower lip delightfully, ending the hungry and passionate French kiss, then breathed a sweet kiss on the spot he had bitten.  
He moaned against her lips, opened his eyes.  
Leila had opened her eyes as well, looking deep into the blue eyes in front of her, which showed quite clearly how horny he was right now - they sparkled full of relish, hunger and greed.  
But Martin also saw very clearly that she was quite horny too, that she was having a hard time to maintain her self-control.

He wanted to savour this incredibly special closeness with her, wanted to savour the orgasm with her, had always loved to enjoy it with her.  
But his self-control was also on the edge of the cliff, hanging by a thread - he wouldn't last another ten seconds.

"Come for me... ", he whispered the command in a warm voice, which sounded commanding but unbelievably charming, flirtatious and almost as sweet as sugar. 

"Bastard...", Leila whispered against his lips, because his command and his voice, which had rushed through her body like warm caramel, made the orgasm rush through her body; his command and his voice have mercilessly destroyed her self-control.

Martin's lips showed a knowing smile; his hands moved to her hips, grabbed her, and pressed Leila down on his cock.  
The orgasm also rushed inexorably through his body.  
Moaning and sighing, he enjoyed every second of it. 

Arms were wrapped around Leila as she sank down on Martin, breathing heavily with him, enjoying the tingling of the climax she had just experienced. 

Fingertips were caressing Leila's back.  
The ten-minute silence that had settled after the orgasm was broken by a warm and nasal voice.

"Good morning, honey," he purred into her hair as Leila's face was snuggling up against the crook of his neck.  
"Good morning, baby," Leila sighed with relish, snuggling up into the crook of Martin's neck.  
"How about taking a shower together?", he asked in a calm voice, still caressed her back.  
"That sounds lovely," Leila purred, who had been enjoying the tender caressing for the last ten minutes.  
"Do you have some time for me today, or are you still having a lot of work to do?"  
"I’ve time for you – there isn’t much work left," she purred again and shivered pleasantly.  
"Perfect! How about having shower and breakfast? And then we could go back to your place and spend the day with each other." Martin suggested.  
"That sounds like a perfect plan, Martin," she murmured and kissed his neck. "But,… we could also spend the rest of the week together until the weekend - Gracie and Joe will stay with you, and I can still handle what’s left of my home office stuff. Would you like that?"  
"I'd love to live somewhere with you and being locked in forever," he whispered charmingly and flirtatious into her hair. "So, I think I’ll manage a few days. I really would love to spend a few days with you, enjoying our love comeback."  
Leila smiled against the crook of his neck - she wouldn't mind to be locked in with him forever either; it was wonderful to spend time with Martin and no matter how much time they had spent together in a row, it had never felt enough, or too much.  
"I love you, Martin," she muttered, raising her head and breathing a kiss on his cheek.  
His eyes opened; he smiled at her, lifted his head a little, and breathed a kiss on her cheek, too.  
"I love you too, Leila," his voice murmured warmly and calmly. 

They got lost in each other's eyes, smiled, beamed; got lost in an intimate and cuddling hug, in which Martin held her safely and securely.

Due to the intimate hug, it had taken them some time to get up and to make their way to the en-suite bathroom.  
They had enjoyed the shower together - amazingly, they had been able to keep their hands by themselves. 

Freshly showered and dried, Leila had picked up all her clothes around the house. She had dressed herself, while Martin had helped himself in his walk-in closet, which was more a shop than a closet. 

They met in the kitchen - their hearts beat comfortably, the butterflies flew happily, their knees felt soft, their bodies tingled pleasantly. 

They were more than happy about the love comeback - you could see that not only in their eyes, you could see that not only in their radiance and posture, you could see that not only in their behaviour, you could hear that in their words for each other.

Leila had already waited for him in the kitchen, sat on the kitchen island, beamed to him, stretched out her arms.  
Martin walked to her, stepped between her legs.  
"Hey... ", he smiled - she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck.  
"Hey,… I know, I always have to jump on something," she grinned and kissed his nose.  
Martin grinned, wrapped his arms around her and left her comment uncommented - what could he say? She knew her oddities well enough herself.

Leila's hands ran gently into Martin's hair - they were styled, looked good, but her hands tousled through them by caressing and playing with them.  
Martin loved her playing fingers too much to be annoyed by the destroyed hairstyle; he didn't let it bother him, just seduced Leila into a soft and tender French kiss.

Their tongues danced gently and tenderly with each other, tasted each other, played almost timidly with each other.  
The lips kissed sweetly, the tongues danced sweetly with each other; sweetly, they tasted each other as if this was their first French kiss.  
They purred into the kiss, enjoyed every single tender second.

Leila was indeed reminded of their first French kiss - it had been similarly tender and timid; it had been similarly relishing and slow, very loving and gentle, not awkward.  
Her heart raced hard against her ribcage, skipped a beat, racing quickly and loudly again.  
Her butterflies danced wildly.  
She was incredibly in love, infatuated, absolutely soppy on him - she could hardly put it into words how much this man had stolen her heart again.  
Her hands grabbed his hair and held on to it, but she also pressed him closer.  
He had already been a gobsmacking kisser back then – even though she hadn’t had someone to compare him with. But now, after she had kissed other men, she could justifiably claim that Martin was more than just a gobsmacking and forbidden good kisser – back then as now.

Martin purred into the kiss as Leila grabbed his hair, held on to it and pushed him closer.  
His heart was beating fast, a way too fast; his belly was tingling massively, sending one shiver after another down his back.  
There were no words to describe how much he loved her, how much she had blown him away.  
How could he have believed that he would ever meet a person who would be more of a perfect match than Leila, who was more home and comfort than Leila.  
They had simply been meant for each other - from the beginning, just not at that time.  
As happy as he was, as much as he loved her and as much as he seemed to have missed her in the last decades, he still didn't regret their decision to split up.  
He wrapped his arms around her even more, snuggled up against her, deepened the tender and timid French kiss longingly.

The longing French kiss became more intimate, became more intense, was deepened even more.  
And suddenly it became a greedy, hungry, lustful and passionate French kiss in no time.

Leila slipped closer to the edge of the kitchen island, wrapped her arms around him even more, made a mess out of his hair, begged for much more - and Martin understood.  
He knew the way she just reacted to his French kiss; he knew what she wanted to tell him, he knew she was begging and implored him to do much more than just kissing her hungrily.

It didn't take his hands two seconds to tamper with her jeans - he opened the button, lifted her up, not feeling her hands in his hair for a few seconds.  
Her hands brushed the jeans off her legs, and then he felt not only her legs around his hips again, but also her hands in his hair again. 

The lips captured each other again - the French kiss felt even greedier, hungrier, more lustful and more passionate than before.

Hectically, Martin opened his own jeans, pushed them down a little bit along with his shorts, just like last night on the couch.  
The desire and lust for her was massive - he was already on the edge of the cliff, dangling at it with just two fingers left; he was already having problems maintaining his self-control.  
The fingers rubbed across Leila's panties, pushing them aside just like last night. 

The way Leila groaned as his erection entered her cunt hungrily and lustfully told him very clearly that he wasn’t the only one who was clinging to the cliff of self-control with a lot of effort and pure magic. 

Passionate were the thrusts, passionate was the moaning that was smothered in the lusty French kiss.  
Hungry and greedy were the thrusts, fast and hectic, but harmonious and rhythmic. 

Their lips loosened, they breathed in hectically and deeply, moaning loudly and indignantly.

Martin had grabbed her buttocks, held them, pressed her towards his cock.  
Leila was still tousling his grey hair, holding on to them for a second, pulling at them in a charming way.

"Fuck!", the warm voice groaned with relish. 

The hand on the clock in the kitchen had not been able to complete the sixty seconds.

Already an apology on his groaning lips, Martin felt that he wasn't the only one who couldn't hold back his orgasm any longer despite all the effort and pure magic.  
Leila also trembled massively through her squirting orgasm, moaned deeply, now grabbed the hair at the back of his head, pressed her lap against his, pressed him as close as she could with her trembling legs. 

Her fingers gently stroked through Martin's hair, straightening it while she was still breathing heavily, while her thighs were still shaking, while she still enjoyed the tingling of the orgasm she had just experienced.  
Martin leaned his cheek against hers, breathed heavily, let his hands slide up her back, put his arms tightly around her, cuddled her in a deep and loving hug - the tingling of the climax ebbed away.

"We're worse than two teenagers in love," he whispered.  
"And you can prove it scientifically," Leila whispered.

They grinned together.

"That’s true. Back then we were able to keep our hands to ourselves a bit better after enjoying sex for the first time.", Martin grinned.  
"We were much more decent and innocent back then," she grinned. "We didn't suddenly sleep with each other just because we kissed."

They laughed.

"Maybe we should go out on a breakfast date; somewhere cosy - or we'll have sex in the kitchen all day long - and then we'll maybe having breakfast for dinner today."  
"Sounds good," Leila smirked. "I hope we are able to keep our hands to ourselves and won't pounce on each other."  
"I think we can control ourselves in a restaurant or café," Martin grinned.  
"How sure are you about that?" she asked mischievously.  
"Totally. Absolutely, ... about fifty percent," the voice grinned cheekily.

And again, they laughed.

Twenty minutes later, Leila and Martin were sitting in the tube from Hampstead to the city.  
Friendly they sat next to each other, chatting and thinking about a place to enjoy their breakfast.  
They were very friendly with each other - there was nothing that would make you suggest that they were more than two friends.  
There weren’t even any paparazzi photos of him and Leila, although they’re quite often on friendship dates.  
Apparently the press suspected that their appearance, no matter when or where, was simply a pure and harmless friendship.

This had been the truth for many years.  
For many years, this assumption had been true, but now they were so much more than pure and harmless friends again.


	13. Raspberry Ice Cream for Breakfast

_**\- Thursday, July/22 - 1982, Italy, Campania, Positano, Via Christoforo Colombo -** _

** Flashback **

The Polaroid camera slowly developed the picture that had just been taken.

Martin, still 10 years old, lowered the camera and grabbed the photograph; he waved it through the air, impatiently waiting for the picture to appear.  
"Let's see if it worked," Martin said to Leila, who was standing right next to him.   
"I'm curious too", the still 10-year-old Leila agreed with her best friend.   
They looked at the Polaroid photo – and the slowly appearing picture made it more and more clear that their photo looked simply amazing.

They beamed at the photograph that many years later would be called: Selfie.

The photograph showed Leila and Martin - standing close together, cheeks sticking together, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. Leila's red hair was tied in a loose bun, some strands were waving in the morning breeze; her turquoise eyes were shining, her mouth was showing a big smile; you could still see a part of her summer dress. Martin's blonde hair waved fluffy through the light breeze; the azure-blue eyes sparkled happily, the mouth also showed a noticeably big smile and radiance; and a bit of his dark green polo shirt was still visible.  
Not only did the two 10-year-old best friends beam and sparkle in the photograph - the photograph also showed the Italian beaming and sparkling sun while the sea glittered behind them. 

On the photograph the sea looked very close to them but in reality, they were still a long way away, because Positano was a cliff town, so they were still a few metres above the sea. 

For almost a week now they were in Italy, here in Positano at the Amalfi Coast.  
For one week they had enjoyed the school holidays in England, before they finally flew to Italy - together; Martin, his mother, his stepfather and the already 16-year-old Jamie; Leila and her parents.   
They would spend two weeks in a holiday home by the sea before spending the rest of the summer holidays in England - but back home would certainly wait a lot of great things and adventures too; with their parents, with Martin's siblings, with their families, with their friends, or just for the two of them. 

They were on their way to get breakfast.   
They were on their way with a small shopping list from Victoria and a backpack that sat on Martin's back.  
Philomena had actually wanted to send Jamie, too, but Leila and Martin had vehemently defended themselves, after all they were old enough to walk a few streets alone to do some shopping at a bakery - as much as Martin loved his brother Jamie, he had wanted to go to the bakery with Leila, just with Leila.   
In the end, their parents had agreed - and after Martin had grabbed the Polaroid camera, they had left for the bakery. 

Martin beamed to Leila.  
"It’s an awesome photograph. I love it."  
"I love it, too. It’s an incredibly beautiful photograph," Leila beamed at him; she took the photograph and camera out of his hand.  
Martin turned around, presented her the backpack and looked over the sea.  
"It's a pity it's just one more week," he said.  
"Yeah, totally. When we're older, we'll just stay on holiday for more than two weeks," she smirked and put the Polaroid camera into the backpack - she carefully put the photograph into a small pocket in the backpack.  
"Good idea!" Martin grinned.  
He turned back to Leila. 

They finished their little break, strolled along the street again, were on their way to the bakery, which they had passed yesterday, but which unfortunately had already been closed. 

Next to each other they strolled along the street with a view over the sea - Leila in a colourful summer dress; Martin with a dark green polo shirt and light blue shorts. 

After another five minutes of walking along the Italian street, they reached the little beautiful bakery.   
Martin opened the door for Leila, entered the shop after her. 

The two children went to the counter, smiling at the woman standing behind it.  
Italian words greeted them; Italian words soaked into their ears - they didn't understand the words, but from the tone of her voice they recognised that it must have been a question. 

Martin tilted his head, looked at the woman with big question marks in his azure-blue eyes.  
"We don't speak Italian," the young voice said in English - polite and friendly, even a little charming.  
The woman smiled behind the counter, now speaking English, but you could hear the Italian accent very clearly.  
"I asked you what I can do for you," she still smiled friendly and motherly.   
Martin put his hand in the pocket of his shorts, took out the shopping list and read what Victoria had written down for them.   
"We would like... two olive loaves, five ciabatta rolls, five focaccia rolls, two panini and two herbal rolls,... please."  
"Well, you two are quite hungry," she grinned.  
Martin and Leila grinned - and Leila answered her.  
"Yes, we are. We won't give the others anything for breakfast, during our day trip or for dinner."  
The woman behind the counter laughed, prepared the order for them.   
"Where do you come from?"  
Leila smiled while Martin pulled out the money from his mother’s wallet.  
"From England."  
"Oh lovely," she smiled. "You two aren't brother and sister, are you?" she asked, while Martin was already putting the money on the counter.   
Leila shook her head.  
"No, we're best friends!" she beamed proudly.   
The woman smiled at her, sorting the money into her till.  
"Aww, it’s lovely that you went on holiday together," she said with a happy voice.

"Excuse me... ", Martin said and interrupted the conversation between Leila and the woman. He pointed to the cream-filled cannelloni. "Could we have two of those, please?" he asked politely, still had enough money in his mother’s wallet.   
His mother had given him something in reserve, as they all hadn't known how much the order would cost, and for the twenty-minute walk through the Italian morning sun they deserved a little treat - secretly.  
And since his mother wouldn't find out how much they had actually paid, the two cannelloni wouldn't stand out - because he was planning to eat the treat secretly with Leila in the Italian morning sun, looking out at the sea, which they would explore with a boat today.  
"Which one would you like? I've got some with vanilla cream, some with lemon cream, some with coconut cream and some with Stracciatella."  
Leila smiled at Martin, suspecting that he wanted to enjoy the little nibble secretly before they would make their way back to the holiday home, without ever mentioning that they had already secretly nibbled before breakfast.  
"I'll take a lemon one," she smiled.  
"And I would like to have one with coconut," Martin smiled. 

The woman with the long brown hair, who could be their mother in relation to their age, smiled again in a good and happy motherly mood.   
She packed one cannelloni with lemon cream and one cannelloni with coconut cream into another package and handed it to Leila.   
She put the money into the till.

"You know what, you two sweethearts; it's never too early for a scoop of ice cream," she smiled. "I made fresh raspberry ice cream for today. Would you like to try it?", she asked.

Martin bowed his head.  
"I'm afraid we don't have any more money for that," he said, because the sign by the small ice cream chest told him how much Italian Lire he would have to pay for two scoops of ice cream, but because of the cannelloni and the actual shopping list he didn't even have enough Lire left for one scoop of ice cream.  
The woman behind the counter smiled.  
"No problem, I'll give you the raspberry ice cream for free.”   
The eyes of the two 10-year-olds grew big and sparkled.

"Thank you!" They said with a joyful and grateful voice. 

And only a few minutes later they were back on the small street - a waffle with a scoop of raspberry ice cream in their hands.   
The Italian sun was shining down on them, the view of the sea was directly in front of them.

They looked to the right, crossed the small one-way street, licked at the homemade raspberry ice cream, which tasted as if they were eating fruity raspberries from a bush.

Leila and Martin leaned against a black metal railing, looked towards the sea, then turned their heads towards each other and grinned happily.  
It was 8.30 in the morning and they were standing in the middle of the sun, enjoying free raspberry ice cream that had never tasted better anywhere else. 

"This was a jackpot," Leila grinned.  
"Yes!” Martin smirked. "Raspberry ice cream and cannelloni. I could always have that for breakfast."  
"Absolutely!", Leila grinned nodding and licked at her ice cream again.

Martin licked at the raspberry ice cream, turned his head back to the sea - it glittered in the morning sun, lay calmly before them.   
He looked at the sea, which lay before them in a perfect mixture of the azure blue of his eyes and the turquoise of Leila's eyes.   
He enjoyed licking at the ice cream - he loved ice cream, no matter what time of day it was; and he appreciated this free ice cream very much, because he wasn’t allowed such treats often before breakfast or just in between two meals. Their parents certainly wouldn’t have allowed it; Jamie certainly wouldn’t have spoiled their fun, but they would have needed to share their cannelloni, because there wouldn't have been enough money for a third one either.   
His tongue licked at the raspberry ice cream, enjoying the cold snack. 

Licking and nibbling, the ice cream slowly disappeared from their waffles as they looked over the wide glittering sea.   
They stood close together, nibbling on their waffle as the delicious raspberry ice cream disappeared into their bellies as the first meal of the day.  
What could be better than ice cream for breakfast?

Their heads turned back towards each other, they grinned mischievously and cheekily at each other again.

"Now the cannelloni," Martin grinned and waited for Leila to hand him his cannelloni.  
"We just need a good excuse why it took us so long to come back," she grinned and handed Martin the cannelloni filled with coconut cream.  
"I'm sure we'll find a plausible excuse," he grinned cheekily. "But now we should enjoy the dessert of our breakfast first, before we go back to the holiday home for our second breakfast."

Their eyes grinned mischievously and cheekily, secretive and conspiring. 

Martin waited until Leila held the cannelloni with lemon cream in her hands – and together they bit into their dessert, their eyes still sparkling azure and turquoise. 

"It was terribly busy at the bakery. We had to queue," Martin smiled very convincingly when he was asked why they were back this late – at 9.16 in the morning.


	14. Marley Chapman

_**\- Friday, September/27 - 2019, London, City of Westminster, Bayswater, Queen's Gardens, Leila's Apartment -** _

Lounging on the couch with popcorn and good music, Leila looked at the photo that had just been sent to her. 

It was a selfie of Martin.  
Martin with a suit, styled short grey hair and shaved cheeks.  
The black suit with the white shirt and the light green knitted tie still fit perfectly, as did the short grey hair – he still looked neat.  
The blue eyes shone through glasses into the camera, on his lips lay a charming smile. 

Yesterday they had seen each other, yesterday they had spent the evening and night together - and that's why she had needed to torment herself tiredly to work this morning; but the day had passed quickly, and the tiredness had been blown away at work.  
She had needed to torment herself out of bed, because Martin had invited her to the Abbey Road party - there had been a party for the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' Abbey Road album, and Martin had invited her to join him.  
She was a big Beatles fan herself, but her love for the Beatles seemed like a little crush compared to Martin's love for the Beatles.  
She had been incredibly happy about the invitation, not only because she had been able to spend an evening and a night with Martin; she had also felt very honoured to spend the evening with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.  
The evening and night had been amazing, simply unique - it had been great fun, and for this awesome and unique experience she had liked to get out of bed this morning still feeling tired and maybe a bit hangover due to a few drinks and a long party night. 

Her eyes looked at the selfie with a radiant smile.

Tomorrow, they would see each other again.  
Tomorrow, she would see him again.  
She could hardly wait; she had the feeling that she missed him faster and faster, more and more at the moment - probably because they had just declared their love for each other, probably because they had just enjoyed their love comeback.  
It was incredible that there was a love comeback; it was incredible that they had actually both fallen in love with each other all over again.  
Their old love blossomed more and more, and she could hardly put into words how much she enjoyed this blossoming, how much she enjoyed calling him her partner and boyfriend again.  
It felt fantastic and breathtaking - the comeback, and the ‘us and we’ with him. 

Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to see each other as often as they had missed each other throughout the week, because Martin had been in New York for a few days and only came back yesterday morning.  
And therefore, she was even more happy to see him again for breakfast tomorrow. 

This evening, Martin was at another event, respectively meanwhile at the after-show party. 

She typed a message back for him.

_< 3 May I tell you that you look pretty hot, or are you sitting at the table with your colleagues & friends? Will you sit at the table with them with bright red cheeks and glowing ears, if I tell you that you look pretty hot? :-*_

_**Right now, I'm alone at my table. ;-)  
The cheeks already feel like they are bright red and I think the ears are glowing too.** _

_If you are alone and your ears and cheeks are already glowing anyway, I will tell you that you look outrageously hot. I could also list what’s hot about this Selfie. ;-)_

_**I think my ears and cheeks will glow so much that I’ll look like an alarm light if you tell me what’s hot about this selfie. :-) :-*** _

_I will list it anyway ;-) Maybe you are a little more convinced of yourself afterwards. Although, this is actually a waste of effort.  
;-) You'll get these compliments anyway since you deserve them, my adorable dork._

_**I had a feeling you would do it anyway :-)** _

<3 Your grey hair is outrageously sexy - who would have thought that? Your blond hair already looked rather good on you back then.  
<3 Your blue shining eyes are also forbidden sexy - but they have always been incredibly amazing.  
<3 The suit suits you outrageously well, and once again you have simply dressed forbidden sexy and neat and elegant.  
<3 And the glasses are the icing on the cake.  
<3 The cherry on cake would be a beard, but since you already look forbidden and outrageously sexy and hot without the beard, I probably wouldn't have survived a selfie including a beard.

Leila sent the last message, then had to laugh.  
Martin had sent her a GIF - a GIF from one of the seven dwarves from Snow White; he looked flattered, kneaded his beard, looked up with cute puppy eyes, while the face, shy and flattered, turned completely red.

_Okay, you are also outrageously cute. :-) :-* <3<3<3_

_**< 3<3<3<3<3 >Thanks for your compliments. I'll never get used to that. :-* I'm not alone anymore, Daniel wants to talk with me. I'm sure you look outrageously hot right now, and probably forbidden cute. I'll get back to you later, gorgeous lady. :-*** _

Leila looked radiantly at his text - her heart was leaping into her throat; the butterflies were busy.  
She sighed, looked at the selfie again - but then several messages arrived in a group chat.  
There were only two group chats, because she didn't really like them that much – too many messages in a very short amount of time, sometimes just GIFs, videos and pictures; it was quite distracting and sometimes even annoying; and after half a day without your smartphone you find 666 new messages.  
One of the group chats contained Martin, Paul and Teresa - because the close friendship had lasted until today.  
In the other group chat were a few people she knew from Twitter - she had been in contact with them for a few years now, and since they got along very well and had even met, they had exchanged numbers half a year ago and moved their chats from Twitter to WhatsApp.

On Twitter, she was active every now and then, sometimes a bit more, sometimes less - depending on her schedule and if she was with friends and family or all by herself.  
On Twitter, she followed not only accounts that contained her interests, but also friends from real life and accounts whose owners were fans of Martin.  
She didn't follow these fan accounts to spy on them and pass on information to Martin; she followed them because she was also a fan of Martin's work - and just because she knew Martin personally, she didn't want to give up being a fan, after all, Jamie also followed some fans and raved about his brother as if he had founded the first Martin Freeman fan club ever.

The group chat consisted only fans - and so far she had managed to hide the fact that she knew Martin personally without any lies. 

She opened the group chat, which had the name 'We<3Martin', because this was where the countless messages had arrived.

She immediately noticed a picture. 

She tapped on it, looked at it, recognised herself and Martin. She tilted her head.  
In the picture you could see them sitting in a rather cosy looking café.  
In the picture they were sitting opposite each other; they looked familiar with each other, laughing, and seemed to be happy and relaxed.  
She raised an eyebrow - this picture must have been taken when they had been in town last week after having sex in the kitchen to have breakfast before the lust for each other would shift breakfast to the evening. 

Giulia from Italy had texted her.  
Ruby from California had texted her.  
Cathy from England had texted her and had sent the picture to the group.  
Lena from Germany had texted her.  
Georgia from New York had texted her.

They were aged between 21 - 42 years.

So far no photo of her and Martin had ever appeared, although they had always done a lot together; but probably the press had thought that she was just a friend, especially during the time he had been with Amanda.  
Until today there had never been a photo of them, they had probably always been uninteresting, because they had always been very friendly with each other - and what lurid headline can you make out of this?

The photo that Cathy had sent her had not been taken by paparazzi, it looked more like a photo that a fan had secretly taken with their smartphone - amazing that it just appeared now.

\--------Chat--------------  
**Cathy:** Why are you sitting in a café with Martin!!! Laughing and having breakfast?

 **Giulia:** OMG!!! Leila???!! What's going on there?

 **Georgia:** WTF! 

**Lena:** I can hardly believe what I’m seeing :-O. OMG, did you meet him there? Lucky you!

 **Ruby:** I want to live in London too, having breakfast with Martin. <3

 **Leila:** :-D calm down. 

**Cathy:** Calm down? You're sitting in a café with Martin, having breakfast with him, laughing and looking extremely familiar with him, and we're supposed to calm down? :-D Are you fucking mad? Did he invite you for breakfast after a hot one-night stand? :-D  
\--------Chat--------------

Okay, now was probably the time to lie a little bit.  
She didn’t want to discuss the status of their relationship with his fans without him knowing it, even though they were not only fans but in some way friends of hers.  
She trusted them, every one of them - but the comeback of their love had only been a few days ago, and a statement was still much too early, in context to them, in context to other friends, in context to their families and also Martin's children; especially without Martin's knowledge and consent.  
She would have to lie a little bit, but that was more appropriate in this situation than the pure and beautiful truth.

\--------Chat--------------  
**Leila:** I invited him for breakfast. :-D 

**Ruby:** :-O

 **Lena:** :-O

 **Cathy:** Heart attack!

 **Georgia:** WTF!

 **Giulia:** OMG! :-O 

**Leila:** :-D calm down from your heart attacks. Although my answer will probably trigger the next heart attacks. I have known Martin for an extremely long time now. We grew up together. Our parents are friends and so Martin became my best friend. We just had breakfast together last week. It wasn't the first time; there just haven’t been a photo of us ever before. 

**Cathy:** Yeah, that's what's triggering a new heart attack! It’s logically that he had friends in his childhood, but I didn't expect to know his best friend! OMG, this is hellacious! Thank Goodness you never said anything, or I would have died of a heart attack a long time ago.

 **Lena:** I could freak out right now - with joy. OMG, it's so cute that you guys are still best friends! But I'm dying of a heart attack right now too, Leila!

 **Ruby:** I'm at work and don't know how I’m supposed to concentrate now. I have about a million questions, and you probably can't answer any of them without Martin's permission. It's extremely amazing and fucking awesome. It must be fucking amazing to be his best friend. God, you fucking know him personally!

 **Georgia:** OMG - Leila! Oh God, I hope he doesn't know what we wrote about him. About him and his body. OMG, he hopefully didn't see the pictures we send each other and the way we rave about him. :-D That would be extremely embarrassing.

 **Giulia:** Georgia! Oh God, until I read your message, I thought it’s very surprising, but adorably cute. Now I am ashamed to death!

 **Leila:** He doesn't know anything about it before the others are panicking too. :-).  
I didn't tell him anything about it, except some compliments about his projects, or about the way he treats you as fans and stuff like that. But I didn’t tell him anything about what you were raving about - that's just something for our chat ;-)  
@Ruby - it's very lovely to be his best friend, because he really is a stunning man.

 **Cathy:** You raved about him too, Leila. :-D And he even knows about the Johnlock porn pics. He surely knows about the way his fans talk about him and his appearance.

 **Leila:** He knows some of these things, but due to Jamie :-D, or other friends who have Twitter accounts and somehow get to see these things ;-) And a little raving will be allowed, he is an attractive man.

 **Giulia:** <3 I am reassured and think it’s quite cute and adorable again. The picture is so cute. You should consider whether you simply fall in love with each other. <3

 **Ruby:** <3 Giulia! Brilliant idea!

 **Georgia:** Oh gosh! Please fall in love with each other! Then he will finally have a really great and amazing girlfriend who absolutely deserve him! 

**Cathy:** We really need a name for these two cuties. <3 Just as a preparation and as a good omen.

 **Lena:** Marley - that's just spelled a little bit different.

 **Ruby:** Marley is great! <3

 **Georgia:** Perfect!

 **Giulia:** Marley Chapman :-D <3 - also a very good secret code for us!

 **Cathy:** Brilliant! <3

 **Leila:** :-D It's good that you already have an agreement about our love life.  
\--------Chat--------------

Completely euphoric, the questions about Martin didn't come up, but her friends from Twitter buried themselves deep in languishing Marley predictions and fantasies - and they kept telling her that they absolutely had to fall in love with each other.

If these five crazy people would know...

The messages barely stopped, but Leila switched from the chat to another message after more than an hour.  
A voice message from Martin.  
Leila listened to it.

She could hear music in the background, but Martin seemed to be in a place where he had found some peace and quiet for the voice message.  
The voice sounded warm, charming, nasal, a little drunk.  
"Aww Honey. Thanks for the picture. I was right. You are outrageously sexy and forbiddingly cute. Looking forward to your fabulous breakfast, and most of all, you."

A picture was sent to her.  
Martin's short grey hair looked wilder, his face looked sweaty, his eyes very drunk, his glasses were no longer sitting on his nose; he no longer wore the jacket, the suspenders could now be seen, the tie was missing, the first two buttons of his shirt were open.  
It was very obvious that Martin was having quite a lot of fun - and it made her incredibly happy too.

She also sent him a voice message.  
"You look even hotter and sweeter now than before! It's great that you are having so much fun! I can't wait to see you, too," she said and pondered briefly. "There's a photo of us from the breakfast, my Twitter group chat now knows that you're my best friend - they want us to fall in love. They already have a name for us, too."

Another voice message arrived after a short time; Martin's voice sounded warm, nasal, drunk and charming again, but now also quite sweet and innocent, and at the same time cheeky and mischievous.  
"Shhh,... I have to whisper something to you," the voice said and then he actually whispered. "I've already fallen in love with you... twice... quite a lot... madly... cloud nine..." He laughed, the voice now sounded euphoric and curious. "What's our name?"

Leila smiled, grinned, then laughed. She whispered the first part of her message too.  
"A little secret,... I've fallen in love with you too, I’m soppy on you, I’m smitten by you – all over again.", the voice whispered. "Our name is Marley Chapman."

Again, a voice message from Martin arrived.  
"Sounds likable - I like it very much. Let them fantasize a little bit more without knowing that we already are on cloud nine with each other, and then we'll surprise them with the truth sometime," he amused himself and then his voice became soft and thankful. "Thanks for lying a little bit - I know they are rather friends than just some fans you rave with about me and my work. I really appreciate it. I love you, honey! I'm going back to the dance floor now, and I'm going to eat something so that I don't show up drunk and groggy for breakfast tomorrow. Sleep tight, Ginge. Kiss and feel hugged, darling."

Leila's heart skipped a beat.  
She loved it when he called her honey, loved it when he called her Ginge, loved his other pet names and loved it when he told her he loved her - and she generally loved to listen to his voice.  
She also sent him one last voice message, not knowing how much he enjoyed listening to her voice, enjoying her pet names and gentle words.  
"I love you too, baby! Have fun, dance a lot, enjoy yourself and the food and get wasted - no matter how you show up for breakfast, I'll nurse you back to your usual self, sweetheart. Sleep tight later, Pumpkin. Kiss and feel hugged."

She sent the voice message, then switched back to the 'We<3Martin' group chat - and for a while she followed the fantasies about Marley Chapman.


	15. Red Wine in a Bubble Bath

_**\- Tuesday, October/01 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Hugging each other, Leila and Martin cuddled and snuggled in the entrance area of the house. They held each other, hugged, cuddled and snuggled.

Last night they had seen each other, and even so they had texted each other constantly throughout the day, they were now hugging each other as if they hadn’t been hugging each other for weeks.  
It was just the same as back then when they had confessed to be in love with each other at the age of 15 - snuggling, cuddling, sweet and adorable kisses, lots of hugs, being cute on cloud nine.  
Actually, they had also been inseparable as best friends, always being with each other, always being sad when they hadn’t managed to see or hear each other at least once a day.  
But this had intensified when they had become a couple - they had been even more attached to each other, had seen each other even more often, had missed each other even more, had not been able to not see or hear from each other for one day.  
They were just palsy-walsy, needed each other like the air to breathe - back then and now; while being friends, while being a couple. 

Of course, they could do without each other.  
It wasn’t a problem to not see each other for days and weeks, to enjoy their days with other friends and family.  
They just missed each other, they just loved to spend time with each other and that's why they tried to see or hear each other as often as possible.  
Of course, they could do without each other - but why should they do that when they now had the opportunity to see each other and to spend time with each other. 

Right now, it was simply lovely and amazing to spend time with each other since they had just enjoyed the comeback of their love two weeks ago.  
Right now, they simply enjoyed seeing each other, hearing from each other, feeling and tasting each other, listening to each other's words and enjoying each other's voice.

It was like 1986 when they had just become a couple, they could hardly keep their hands and lips off each other - but one thing actually had changed in all these years.  
This time they weren’t shy and timid, this time they weren’t exploring.  
They were still very gentle and tender with each other but much more self-confident - and there was no reason to explore anything because they harmonized perfectly.  
Just like in those days all these years ago they enjoyed kissing and caressing, cuddling and snuggling - but the way they were kissing and caressing, cuddling and snuggling had changed.  
They kissed each other more lovingly and intensively, kissed each other much more intimately and passionately, they were snogging much more hotly; they caressed each other more intimately and intensively than at the beginning of their relationship all these years ago; they cuddled and snuggled even more closely, and on top of that, their kisses, caresses, cuddles and snuggles actually led to making love or passionate sex every time at the moment - back then they had waited half a year before they had made love for the very first time, now they sometimes barely managed to wait half an hour. 

Martin let his hands wander over her back, massaged over her shoulders, caressed her neck, captured her face in both hands.  
He kissed her forehead intimately.  
Leila had just arrived a few minutes ago after a day at work, after a long day with many appointments and a lot to do.  
A second kiss was breathed onto Leila's forehead.  
The thumbs gently caressed her cheeks. 

Leila smiled with closed eyes, put her hands on his hands, caressed his hand with her thumbs.  
She pursed her lips, meeting Martin's lips, his nose just nudged hers.  
She breathed a kiss on his lips.  
A second kiss, she breathed lovingly on his lips.  
They exchanged a third kiss intimately but tenderly. 

Martin turned his hands around, intertwined their fingers, breathed a tender kiss on her lips, let their hands sink.

"Hey, honey," he breathed and opened his eyes, leaned back a little, looked deep into her turquoise eyes.  
"Hey, baby," Leila whispered with her eyes open, returning his intense gaze.

They smiled at each other, beaming into each other's eyes. 

"What treat can I give you now that you are here?" he asked thoughtfully.  
"Hmm, I'd like to take a bath. I somehow have been feeling quite cold all day. And I would like to cook with you afterwards, just enjoying the evening."  
"Would you mind if I join you in the bathtub? I'm not feeling cold, but it's been a busy day and a hot bath would do me good too."  
"We've bathed together lots of times, sweetheart - why should it bother me now?" She smiled softly.  
"Well, it's been a long time since we last had a bath together," he smiled winking.  
"I guess that’s true," Leila grinned. "But I don't mind having a bath with you now. On the contrary. Maybe we could just swap the splashing and playing in the bathtub for some cuddles and kisses."  
"Oh, but splashing and playing would be funny too," he grinned cheekily like a 6-year-old boy.  
"Well, I remember that one day, when I babysit Joe and Gracie with you - you didn't think it was funny when they splashed and played, when they were shooting you and me with water pistols they had smuggled in."  
Martin laughed, still holding her hands.  
"That was years ago, Ginge. And it wasn't just a bit of splashing and playing, there was more water in the bathroom than in the bathtub, because they wouldn’t stop shooting with these terrible water pistols - and despite my swearing and loud admonitions, the two of them weren’t tameable."  
Leila grinned.  
"Well, Daddy Martin, you weren't much better back then either - it rubs off on the kids."

They laughed, then breathed a kiss on each other’s lips.

"We'll agree on the cuddles and kisses," Martin winked, and breathed another kiss on her lips. "I'm looking forward to it,... we've never bathed during our relationship back then."  
Leila tilted her head.  
"True,... we never actually did it back then. Then this is our first time as a couple in the bathtub."

Martin's eyes were shining.  
"Sounds crazy, right? That we're a couple again."  
"Yeah,... that sounds crazy," she breathed with a twinkle in her eye. "But incredibly beautiful."  
"Stunningly beautiful – it’s gobsmacking," Martin nodded.  
He squeezed her hands. 

He wondered why he hadn't fallen in love with her all over again years ago.  
What more did he want and need?  
Leila was not only a breathtakingly and gobsmacking beautiful woman.  
She was so much more - he loved her personality, loved her oddities and weaknesses, her guilty pleasures, views and opinions. He loved what she represented, what she loved and liked, her passions and her open-hearted soul.  
And he loved the fact that she always had his back and that she supported him unconditionally.  
He felt extremely comfortable and safe with her, secure and at home; he felt incredibly special with her, for the person he was, for what he loved and liked; he felt perfect and complete with her.  
Her personality was so rich in variety that he would probably be able to rave about each and every one of her qualities for hours or days, maybe weeks - and then he would probably just be done with the letter A.  
She was incredibly stunning, and she was able to blow him away and to overwhelm him every single day.  
He wondered why it had taken him so long to fall in love with her all over again - but maybe now was just the right time for them to be a couple; at least it felt that way.

Leila snuggled up to him, rubbed her nose over his tip of the nose, beamed into his eyes, really adored him.  
Martin was an absolute cutie pie – back then and now.  
But she absolutely didn't want to reduce him to his appearance, even if that was hard to overlook.  
Nevertheless, there was not only his gobsmacking beautiful appearance, there was so much more that she loved and appreciated about him.  
She loved his multifaceted personality, loved that he was not only an absolute gentleman, sensitive and timid, tender and caring, but that he could also be an absolute clown, a stubborn nuisance, a cursing middle finger pointing poison dwarf and a cheeky boyish charmer.  
She loved it when he cursed, loved it when he was annoying and a pain in the ass, when he showed his middle finger, when he was cheeky like a little boy and even cheekier than his own kids, when he was more gentlemanly than Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch together, when he was gobsmacking charming.  
He was a wonderful man, with everything that made him what he just was - whether it was his appearance, his personality, his interests, views and values, oddities and weaknesses and guilty pleasures.  
And on top of that, she just felt completely happy with him; he made her laugh; she felt safe and protected, secure and at home, loved and appreciated, respected and accepted.  
With him it had been perfect back then, it just hadn’t been the right time.  
With him it was perfect again, but this time it felt like their time had come.

The tips of their noses rubbed gently against each other, or rather Martin let the tip of his nose circle over the tip of Leila's nose.  
Azure blue met turquoise.  
Turquoise met azure blue.  
Their lips pursed; they breathed another kiss on their lips.

Gently, Martin squeezed Leila's hands again.  
"Shall I take a glass of wine upstairs?" he asked in a warm voice.  
"Sounds great."  
"Red or white?" He smiles.  
"Red."  
Gently, Martin squeezed Leila's hands again, breathed a kiss on her lips again before he let her hands slip out of his.

While Leila had taken off her jacket and shoes, Martin had disappeared into the kitchen for a little moment.  
They had gone upstairs with two glasses of red wine, had gone into the huge cosy bathroom on the first floor.  
And while the water had splashed into the bathtub, they had leaned against the glass wall of the spacious shower and exchanged more caresses.

Little kisses, gentle kisses, sweet kisses.  
Caresses through the hair, caresses on the cheek, caresses on the arm.  
A play with grey hair.  
Loving kisses for red hair. 

Two sweaters had sailed to the floor, a shirt, a bra.  
Two jeans had slipped to the floor, a pair of panties and boxer shorts.  
Two pairs of socks had been stripped off. 

Leila got into the bathtub; she got into the hot water, which was invisible because of the thick layer of foam that was above it - she hadn't noticed that Martin had put in something for a bubble bath when he had turned on the water.  
She sat down slowly, looked up to Martin, who was also just stepping into the bathtub.  
Her eyes looked at his body, looked at him very uninhibitedly - her eyes scurried over every millimetre of his body, adoring him, radiant and languishing.  
She loved what she saw - from the tip of his hair to his big toe. 

"In case you didn't want me to notice that you... ", Martin said with a grin and with a raised eyebrow, but he was interrupted immediately.  
"I didn't want to do it unnoticed", Leila grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. 

Martin laughed heartily, sat down slowly - sat down opposite her.

"It would have been a massive fail, if you would have wanted to do it without me noticing it. The way you were staring at me was very intense and obvious."  
"Too bad you're already sitting; I wasn’t done... staring… at you," she winked flirtatiously.

Martin grinned, slipped a little bit closer to Leila, who was doing the same.

"We can come back to that later," he winked charmingly. "I hope you'll stay here. I hope you won't leave right after you've eaten your dinner and half of mine," he grinned, winked charmingly again.  
"If I’m allowed to stay until tomorrow morning, I would stay until I ate my breakfast and half of your breakfast," her eyes beamed amused.

They grinned at each other, slipping even closer - Leila's legs lay on Martin's legs, her arms were wrapped around his neck, while she felt his legs at the side of her body and his arms around her waist.  
Their cheeky grin became a gentle smile.

"Lovely to have you here until tomorrow morning," the warm male voice whispered.  
"I love being with you... " Leila's pleasant feminine voice muttered.

They leaned closer to each other and kissed.

Martin’s hands caressed Leila’s back, his hands caressed her shoulder blades and shoulders. His fingertips moved to her neck, they caressed gently over it, caressing gently over the red hair, which was styled in a loose bun.  
He heard her sigh, felt the goose bumps under his fingertips as he caressed across her back to her shoulders, as he caressed her neck.  
Gently, he put his hands on her bare shoulders, gently massaging them with a soft pressure. 

Leila had closed her eyes, sighed again as she felt his massaging hands, purred as his fingernails scratched carefully over her shoulder and shoulder blades before he massaged her again with soft pressure.  
Her hands moved from his neck into his hair, let the grey soft strands slide through her fingers - and she heard him sigh as well.  
Her fingers played with his hair, her fingers massaged his scalp, and again she heard a sigh.  
Tenderly, her fingers caressed out of his hair, gently caressing across his neck, scratching his back - goose bumps under her fingertips, a pleasant shivering, a warm purr, a firm thankful kiss on her cheek. 

Her hands caressed across his back to her neck again; she wrapped her arms around his neck again.  
His hands moved down her back, he wrapped his arms around her hips again. 

Gently, they exchanged a kiss before they leaned back a little bit – and their hands reached for the glasses filled with red wine.

They smiled at each other, looked deep into each other's eyes, and clinked their glasses.  
A charming wink from Martin.  
A beautiful smile from Leila.  
They sipped at their glasses, not taking their eyes off each other.

And without a warning, the pleasant palpitations and tingling in the tummy reappeared.

Sitting in the bathtub and enjoying the hot water and foam, they also enjoyed the red wine, the closeness, their conversation about old times and their day today.  
They had sipped at their red wine, Leila had warmed up, Martin had been able to switch off his mind and calm down from the exhausting day; they had exchanged a kiss here and there, given each other gentle caresses or little massages, and chatted about their day and about the good old times, about memories they had of earlier bathing experiences.

The water had cooled down, slowly but steadily - and when it had become too cold for both of them, they had silently agreed that the time for bubble bath was over.

Martin only slipped into his shorts and the sweater he had worn - it would be enough for now, because he had set the fireplace in the living room, and the heat usually flowed very pleasantly into the kitchen too.  
When he turned around, he saw Leila slipping nakedly into his fluffy dark blue bathrobe - he had offered it to her, but he wouldn't have minded if she had used it without asking.  
He came to her, cheekily slipped the hood over her head before pressing a kiss on the bathrobe at the back of her neck.  
Leila smiled, felt Martin's arms around her - and then she toddled out of the bathroom with him.

They waddled slowly to the stairs, and over and over again a kiss was pressed on the bathrobe at the back of her neck.

Martin loosened the tender hug in front of the stairs - that was a little bit too dangerous, even though he didn’t really like to end the cuddly hug.  
Leila turned her head around, grinned at him, brushed the hood off her head – and just a second later they went down to the kitchen.

Leila lightly hopped onto the kitchen island, beamed at Martin, who came to her with a big smile.  
Sitting on the kitchen island with his bathrobe, Leila wrapped her legs around Martin's hips and her arms around his neck.  
Martin snuggled up into the loving hug, nestled his face against her cheek and the crook of her neck; he closed his eyes, savouring her scent.

Leila beamed, enjoyed his cuddling, enjoyed his snuggling, enjoyed his warm body and his beating heart - and she was feeling that he was beaming against the crook of her neck. 

Comfortably, they let the minutes pass in silence.


	16. Hot Chocolate in a Bubble Bath

_**\- Saturday, December/03 - 1977, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Home of the Freeman Family -** _

**Flashback**

Children's laughter roared through the snowy garden. 

Snow covered the lawn.  
Snow covered the trees and bushes.  
Snow covered the terrace.

Unexpectedly it had snowed all night long, and unexpectedly the snow hadn’t thawed.  
The sun had been shining all day long, but it had been cold, sometimes even very cold. 

The Freeman family and the Chaplin family had strolled through Willow Park and the Lakeside Nature Reserve for an hour, but not all family members had strolled through the cold snowy landscape.  
While Philomena and James, 18-year-old Benedict, 16-year-old Laura, 15-year-old Tim and 12-year-old Jamie had stomped through the snow, 6-year-old Martin had enjoyed a one-hour ride on the wooden sleigh.  
While Victoria and Thomas Chaplin had walked through the snow, 6-year-old Leila had enjoyed a one-hour ride on Martin’s wooden sleigh.  
They had enjoyed the stroll - especially Martin and Leila, who had yelled happily at the others to pull them faster and wilder, while they had sat comfortably on the sleigh, nibbling some Christmas cookies.

The sky was no longer sunny and blue, the sky slowly darkened, but Leila and Martin were still outside.

The two six year olds were in the garden, running through the snow, chasing each other, playing catch, but they also threw snow at each other.  
Their thick winter trousers, winter jackets and winter shoes were covered in snow; their faces were bright red, their eyes looked exhausted, but their laughter still sounded full of energy, and they were still running through the garden full of verve and pep.

Martin was chasing Leila, trying to catch her, laughing a happy child's laughter.  
He ran through the snow, which was not that easy and quite exhausting.  
His arms were stretched out, his hands repeatedly reaching and grabbing for Leila's jacket, who laughingly ran away from him, and whose running looked just as tiring and exhausting.  
He managed to grab her jacket by the back, tugged at her jacket, pulled her into the snow.  
But he too plopped into the white ice-cold powder like an old grandpa.

Leila laughed, knelt down in the snow, rubbed her nose with her gloved hand, then straightened her cap.  
She turned around to Martin, saw him kneeling in the snow, rubbing his hand over his blue eyes; and then he put his cap back into place.  
He grinned childishly and cheekily - it wasn't the first time they were lying or sitting in the snow.  
Leila grabbed some snow with her hand – she also saw snow in Martin's hand when she lifted her own hand to throw it at him.

They grinned at each other, stretched out their hands, pressed a lot of snow right into each other's faces. 

"Hey,... Martin, Leila,... mum says you have to come in," 15-year-old Tim yelled to his brother and his brother’s best friend Leila.

Martin and Leila turned their heads towards the terrace and the open door.  
They both pulled a disagreeing face.  
Martin crossed his arms in front of his chest, shook his head.

"But we don't want to come in yet!"  
"But mum wants it! It'll be dark very soon and she has put water in the bathtub for you," Tim said - he looked at Martin and Leila, who didn't move. "Come on, you two. I don't want to come out to get you. Besides, she's making you hot chocolate right now, you don't want to miss that in the hot bath," he blackmailed them with the truth.

In no time the two children were standing.  
In no time they were running through the snow towards the terrace.

Impatiently they stood in front of Tim, who tapped the snow from their clothes and then helped them to get rid of the thick jackets, trousers and shoes. 

With thick socks, long underpants and a thick wide sweater, the two 6-year-olds entered the living room.  
The door was closed behind them by Tim, who didn't see much of them anymore, because they were already rumbling and running through the living room, into the hall and up to the bathroom.

In the bathroom the hot water in the bathtub was actually steaming – a bubble bath even covered the water surface. 

Martin loved to bathe, but unfortunately he wasn't allowed to do it every day, and most of the time he even had to share the water with his siblings.  
Today, he didn’t have to wait until the others were finished.  
Today, his mum had filled the bathtub with hot water just for him, for him and Leila.  
A full bathtub only for him and Leila.  
And on top of that, they got a bubble bath.  
The blue eyes were shining happily. 

Turquoise eyes also sparkled to the hot water and the bubble bath.  
She also loved to bathe, but she was just allowed to bathe once a week.  
Washing in the bathtub was much better than at the sink or in the shower, but unfortunately her parents only allowed her to use the bathtub once a week - such a shame.  
She could hardly wait to take a bath with Martin - and she could hardly wait for the hot chocolate.

They turned their heads towards each other, beaming at each other.

"Just for us!" Martin beamed.  
"And a bubble bath!" Leila rejoiced.  
"And hot chocolate!" Martin beamed even more.  
"Your mum's hot chocolate is the best in the world," Leila remarked happily.  
"I think your mum's hot chocolate is the best in the world," Martin rejoiced.  
"Your mother mustn't hear about this," Leila laughed happily.  
"Shhh.", Martin grinned with a cheeky twinkle and a childish giggle. 

They smiled at each other, then started to undress. 

Leila began by taking off her socks.  
Martin started by taking off his sweater.

The sweater landed on the floor, then a T-shirt, then the long underpants - and finally the socks.  
The socks were put on a stool, after that the long underpants, a sweater and an under-shirt.

Martin and Leila walked as naked as they were through the blue tiled bathroom - colourful wallpaper stuck to one wall.  
They trudged to the bathtub, not waiting for Martin's mother, because even if they hadn't noticed the cold outside, now they were shivering and shaking like crazy.  
Their lips were suddenly blue, their ears and faces glowed red like a crab.  
Due to all the joy, due to all the fun, due to all the enjoyment, due to all the snow, they had forgotten to shiver and shake in the garden.  
They didn't feel like waiting any longer, after all, they were freezing - and they had been told to come in now.  
If Philomena wanted them to come in to bathe, they would do so - and they would do it now; otherwise they could have played even longer.

Martin and Leila got into the bathtub as naked as they were.

It wasn't the first time they were having a bath together - they had bathed together countless times in recent years.  
Here or at Leila’s place.  
Quietly or playing with different toys - but they had also already half flooded the bathroom by playing wild games in the bathtub; the last time it happened had been on Martin's birthday, when they had been allowed to go into the bathtub before going to bed. 

Slowly the two children sat down in the bubble bath - sat opposite from each other, beaming at each other with red ears and faces; lips still blue, but bodies no longer shivering and shaking. 

"How many times do I have to tell you not to go into the bathtub all by yourselves!" Philomena asked – she entered the bathroom with two cups of hot chocolate, shortly after Leila and Martin had sat down.

Martin turned his head around, shrugged his shoulders.  
"We're not babies anymore, mummy! We can sit all alone."  
"You're still not supposed to take baths alone! Not without someone watching over you!"  
"But you weren't here! It took you such a long time. We would have frozen to death - and then you would have one child less - and your neighbours none at all!"  
Philomena shook her head in disbelief, handed the two cups of hot chocolate down to the children.  
"Better drink your hot chocolate and stop talking such nonsense," she had to smile now - but then she pointed her index finger at him. "If you go into the bathtub all alone again my friend!"  
"Then?", he asked in a bright child's voice - the blue eyes looked at her, the blond short hair stood off in all directions.  
"Drink your hot chocolate," she told him.  
Martin grinned cheekily at her, then sipped his hot chocolate. 

He loved his mother's hot chocolate; and the one his daddy made for him when he was with him tasted great too; but the best hot chocolate was made by Leila's mum Victoria – her hot chocolate was almost as thick as pudding and tasted a lot like cinnamon. 

"Thank you, Philomena," Leila smiled sweetly - the turquoise eyes were smiling.  
Philomena caressed gently over her head.  
"You're welcome, darling."

Philomena looked at the two children, bowed her head.  
"I'll bring you some more Christmas cookies - you must be hungry after the wild gambol in the garden," she said; she pointed her finger at Martin. "Don't grin at me like that," she had to grin too. "I'll be right back! And until then you will keep your seat!"  
She bent down, kissed her youngest son lovingly on the head.

Martin looked after her, turned his head to Leila when his mother left the bathroom.  
"Parents are weird," he grinned over the edge of his cup.  
Leila grinned at him, nodded.

A short time later a small plate with some Christmas cookies was standing on the wide rim of the bathtub.  
And thanks to Martin's charming and sweet persuasion, they were now even sitting alone in the bathroom, alone in the bathtub. 

Philomena had been persuaded to leave the two of them alone.  
She had let herself be persuaded by the charm of her youngest son and by the sugar-sweet smile and his blue puppy eyes.  
But actually, she knew that the two were reasonable and that they had a common-sense, even if they were able to romp like two wild monkeys sometimes.  
But she hadn't seen two wild romping monkeys in the bathtub, they had looked rather exhausted, happy to sit together in the bathtub, to drink a hot chocolate and to eat a few Christmas cookies. 

Martin beamed to his best friend, beamed over the edge of his cup; the blue eyes sparkled.  
He was always happy when he could spend time with her.  
He had tucked up his legs, put the cup down on his right knee and held it with one hand.  
The hot water was wonderful, and he felt really warm again.  
His little hand grabbed a Christmas cookie shaped like the cap of Santa Claus.  
He dunked it into the hot chocolate, then took a bite. 

"Will you sleep at my place tonight?" he asked after swallowing.  
"I'll ask my parents," Leila nodded happily.  
"Great!" Martin's young voice rejoiced. 

Leila beamed to her best friend, who was dipping his Christmas cookie into the hot chocolate again.  
She really liked him, loved spending time with him - preferably as much as possible.  
She sipped the hot chocolate again; her legs were stretched out past his hips.  
Her hand took a Christmas cookie and she bit into it with relish - in fact, the romping in the garden had made her hungry; and the cookies tasted deliciously, especially due to the fact that she had made them with Martin and his mother. 

They sipped their hot chocolate.  
They ate the cookies.  
They defreezed again.

Jamie had looked after them for a moment, and they both suspected that Philomena had sent him up for a quick look to check on them.  
Jamie had just looked after them for about a minute, had taken the empty cups with him and then he had stolen the last Christmas cookie from the plate.  
Water had hit his butt shortly after - it had been Martin, not pleased with the theft.  
But Jamie hadn’t been impressed. He had only turned his head around, grinning and chewing, and then he'd left.

Leila and Martin were still sitting in the bubble bath.  
Foam was still on the surface of the water, but it had already decreased.

Leila collected some foam, blew it to Martin - it fluttered in his face.  
She grinned at him, saw him grin too - foam was mainly on his little button nose.  
She stretched out her little hand, nudged his foam-covered nose with her finger.  
Martin grinned sugary sweet to her, also collected foam, dumped it on her head. 

The little game continued for a while until her hair was damp. 

Leila rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.  
"I’m getting cold."  
"Me too."  
"We can leave the bathtub."  
"Yes," Martin nodded in a bright voice.  
And he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand too. 

They got out of the tub, very carefully.  
They dried themselves, very thoroughly.  
They slipped back into their clothes, all alone.

Martin obligingly handed her his bathrobe, because after drying her hair it was still wet.  
Leila put on the hood of the bathrobe.

And then they ran out of the bathroom, across the corridor and into Martin's room. 

They threw themselves onto Martin's bed and looked at each other.  
Leila looked at Martin.  
"Too bad we didn't get more cookies."  
"Yes. Probably because of dinner," Martin said with a disappointed voice.  
"Maybe we'll get some more afterwards."  
"Surely! And if not, then we'll ask if we can sleep at your place - then maybe we'll get cookies from your parents," he grinned cleverly.  
"Yes! We'll say we haven't eaten any at your place," she grinned.  
"That's a good idea!", Martin said enthusiastically.  
"Yes," Leila said, eyes suddenly closed, voice tired.  
"Yes... ", Martin repeated, eyes suddenly closed, voice tired.

They had thrown themselves weirdly into Martin's bed.  
Parts of their legs were hanging out of the bed.  
They lay on their stomachs, their heads turned towards each other.  
Leila still had the hood on her head; Martin's blond hair was almost dry, but it looked very tousled.  
Their eyes were closed; they breathed calmly.  
No sound left their lips.

When Philomena went upstairs to end their bathing time a short time later, all she found was an empty bathtub with no foam, two hung-up towels and no clothes.  
She didn’t find her youngest son and his best friend in the bathtub, but after a brief little search she found them in Martin's bedroom.

She found the two six year olds on Martin's bed, asleep, together, side by side.


	17. A Competition you can only win

_**\- Tuesday, October/08 - 2019, London, Longford, Heathrow Airport -** _

Leila pulled the hood of her jacket over her head; with a sports bag hanging over her shoulder, she quickly hurried across one of the many employee parking lots.

Rain trickled down on her.

She hurried across the parking lot, not wanting to go to her car.  
She rarely used the car to get to work, as she lived only an eight minutes' walk from Paddington Station, and from there the Heathrow Express took her almost directly to her workplace in just 15 minutes.   
It would take her about 40 minutes by car and she would have to fight her way through the traffic - but still, she sometimes used her car, for example when she wanted to go shopping, when she had an appointment somewhere else, and for the last few weeks whenever she had gone to Martin's place right after work. 

Today she had taken the Heathrow Express to work - but she would be picked up in front of the employee parking lot by Martin himself. 

Her feet hurried through the rain, hurried across the car park, hurried to the road.

Martin's car was parked right at the entrance to the car park.

Martin turned his head to the door when the passenger door was opened.  
His heart skipped a beat immediately – it was beating euphorically.  
He sat up immediately after he had lolled in his seat for the last few minutes.  
The butterflies were immediately busy with dancing their dance of love.  
A sparkle and lots of joy lay on his face - his eyes were glowing blue and dreamy; his lips were happily smiling.  
He felt his body tingle with excitement and joy - he had the feeling that he was on top of the world.  
Tiredness, which he had felt in his bones to some extent, had vanished. 

He eyed his girlfriend as Leila quickly got in, stuffed her sports bag into the back of the car and then pulled the hood off her head - and once again his heart skipped a beat. 

Leila raised one eyebrow, smiled and tilted her head.  
Instead of hearing a greeting from him, she only saw him looking at her with a dreamy expression; his eyes sparkling amorously, his lips smiled enamoured - the glowing eyes literally adored her; she was able to see the dancing butterflies and pounding heart in his dreamy and amorous eyes. 

"Well... ", she smiled amused and looked deeply into his eyes - and she could literally see that his heart skipped a beat, just to pound madly against his ribcage again. 

Martin blinked, shook his head briefly, closed his eyes briefly. He blinked again, looked at Leila.  
"Sorry... ", he muttered shyly, then a charming smile appeared on his lips. "A little bit too much in love with you," he winked charmingly.  
He put his hand on her thigh, gently rubbing back and forth.

Leila's butterflies danced even wilder.  
"You don't have to apologise for that. It's playing into my hands that you're a little bit too much in love with me," she smiled flirtatious and put her hand on his.   
She looked at him with bright eyes. 

Martin smiled, let his blue eyes scurry out of the window for a moment - the street was deserted, except for some driving cars, but he couldn't see someone passing the car.   
He bent over to her, turned his hand around, intertwined his fingers with hers - but he didn't just capture her fingers, he also captured her lips.   
He kissed her longingly, kissed her devotedly and welcomed her with his kiss.   
Gently, the three-day beard scratched and tingled while kissing, but he knew that Leila loved beards in general, and especially his - that she was quite fond of his beard, she had let him know quite often during the last three weeks with loving words, with gentle compliments, with soft kisses and tender caresses.   
And his scratchy beard immediately triggered a pleasant sigh and purr from Leila.  
Martin sighed into the kiss too, enjoyed the feeling and taste of Leila's lips. 

It was crazy how much this kiss made his heart race faster, how much this kiss made the butterflies dance, how much this kiss made his entire body tingle and sparkle.  
He had never been dishonestly in love with someone before or had started a relationship without deep feelings for that person, but he had to say that he hadn't felt this kind of tachycardia and this kind of tummy tingling for a very long time - the last time he had felt it that intensely he had been in love with Leila all these years ago.   
It was crazy that after all these years and decades he was feeling this very intense feeling all over again just as strongly and somehow even more strongly than back then.

His lips kissed her; his tongue licked gently across her lower lip; his teeth nibbled gently, his lips sucked on her lower lip before his teeth captured it and released it very slowly.

"Hey,... honey," he muttered against her lips.  
"Hey, baby," Leila purred with a strong beating heart – the way he kissed was simply breathtaking.

Gently and sweetly, Martin breathed a kiss on her cheek, squeezed her hand, then rubbed her cheek with his nose, rubbing her cheek with his beard - he felt a pleasant shiver running down her spine.

"I still don't regret that we broke up back then. And yet I have the feeling that I have missed being a couple with you and all these kisses and everything else extremely in the last years,… since we split up. I'm still convinced that it was the right thing to break up, but I don't know what could make me happier right now than knowing that we're enjoying our love comeback, that our old love is blossoming again after all these years.”   
The words, paired with Martin's voice and the rubbing of his beard across her cheek while he was speaking, made her shiver pleasantly again.   
She nestled her cheek against his lips, closed her eyes, squeezed his hand.

"I can only agree," she breathed. "It still feels right that we broke up, but now with this comeback even sadder than before. It's an incredible pity that we had to go this way, but I couldn't be happier right now. It feels fantastic to enjoy this love comeback with you. I love to have you back, Martin. You're amazing - you were amazing back then, and you're amazing now. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in life."

She turned her head to him, captured his lips again, turned more towards him, let her free hand slide on his neck, buried her hand in his grey soft hair, felt his free hand rest against her cheek.  
She heard him sigh, sensed that he enjoyed her kiss very much.   
His lips tasted delicious. 

It was crazy how love works.   
In her opinion love was magic - two people meet each other and both develop the same intense feelings for each other at the exact same time; this could only be magic.   
She had never loved someone more than Martin – just being reunited with Martin brought back a very deep and intense love.  
Not only Martin was a bit too much in love with her, she was also a bit too much in love with Martin.  
It was crazy that they had fallen in love with each other all over again, at the exact same time.

Gently and tenderly, her lips danced with his; tenderly, her hand played in his grey hair; lovingly, her other hand lay on his cheek - the thumb stroked lovingly across his beard.   
Gently, she loosened her lips – softly, their lips smacked.

She looked at him, smiled amorously.  
He looked at her, smiled dreamily.

They both languished and adored each other with their intense looks. 

Some moments passed silently, languishing and adoring with the intense eye contact - but then Martin moved again.

He let go of Leila's hand, took her face in both hands, pressed a firm and intense kiss on her lips.   
"Now let's go to the squash court, otherwise we'll be sitting dreamily in the car for the next few hours," he smiled.   
Leila nodded.  
"Yes,... you better drive us to the gym, or we'll never get out of here."  
Martin nodded with a smile, let go of her face, rubbed her thigh and then sat down behind the wheel again. 

They had an appointment for squash - and because Martin hadn't had any appointments today, he had suggested to pick her up from work.   
And Leila had been incredibly happy about it.

On the half-hour drive to Kensington Leisure Centre, they didn’t only listen to some music, they also talked about Leila's day.   
They talked animatedly, made each other laugh, enjoyed the animated conversation.   
And when they parked at the Kensington Leisure Centre after the half-hour drive, Leila felt absolutely relaxed after a hard day at work - she had been able to refuel her body and mind with Martin. 

They walked across the parking lot, didn't have to hurry anymore, because it had stopped raining.  
They entered the sports centre, separated to change their clothes in the respective changing rooms. 

A few minutes later Leila came to Martin, who was warming up in one of the separated private squash halls.  
She put her drink down at the glass pane.

"But we will play with each other," Leila grinned.

Martin didn't hit the incoming ball back but caught it. He stopped the warm-up, had been a little faster in changing his clothes.

"Why is that? It's much more fun when we play against each other," Martin smiled.

Leila waved the racket in her hand back and forth.  
"Yeah. You’d enjoy it much more," she grinned. "You're too good at this; I've no chance to win against you."  
"You didn't even try," Martin grinned.  
"I've tried it often enough and lost every time! You're still fucking good at it, even if you haven't played in the squash club for decades. We all don't stand a chance against you, even though you don't have the best physical condition," she grinned with an amused face.  
"Then just fucking learn to play it properly," he grinned broadly and cheekily.  
"Stop arguing and let's play with each other," Leila laughed.  
"I just shut up now," he grinned.   
"Good boy," she grinned and winked. "I'd have kissed you silent, but the window is transparent, and the hall is under video surveillance."  
Martin raised and wiggled his eyebrows.  
"If we play against each other and you win, you can kiss me silent at your place and you can even do more than just kissing me."  
Leila raised one eyebrow, looked interested.  
"What happens if you win?"  
"Then I’ll kiss you silent, then I will do much more than kissing you silent."  
"Okay. Shut up now and let's play against each other," she grinned and got into position.

Martin laughed heartily and amused - in the end she could only win this deal. She would certainly try to win, but he was sure that she was now quite happy that her chance to win against him was quite small; after all, he knew that she enjoyed it very much when he spoiled her, when he seduced her and when he took the lead. 

The chance of winning was actually ridiculously small for her, because he had played squash for a few years before he stopped doing it and joined the Theatre class. He had been quite good, had also participated successfully in tournaments, and had even travelled all over England to do so.  
Squash was something he was fucking good at, even though he actually didn't have the best physical condition. The asthma that had made his life a bit harder for him when he had been a little boy hadn't bothered him for decades now, but he still didn't have the physical condition of a sportsman, even though he kept himself fit regularly.

He liked to play squash, could have made more out of it than just a hobby, but he was quite happy that he had joined the Theatre class - he loved his job, even if there were days or moments when he just wished he was a nobody.  
With and around Leila he was a nobody and yet extremely special to her - on top of that Leila could show in a wonderful way how much she loved his work and what he was doing. She had always supported him unconditionally and unselfishly, something he could not say of any other partner he had ever had – especially not about Amanda or Jeanne.

No matter who would win, it would get quite hot and erotic at her place. 

Sex wasn’t the most important thing in a relationship for him, but he had to admit that he quite loved to exchange this kind of love. He loved to have sex very much, but it wasn't the most important thing in his life or a relationship.   
It wasn't number one of the most important things in a relationship, but with Leila he loved it even more, with Leila it felt even more gobsmacking, with Leila he could hardly get enough of it at the moment.   
They could hardly keep their hands off each other. 

He just loved to caress her; he just loved to kiss, cuddle and snuggle with her; he could actually do without sex for a long time - but at the moment, even the innocent touches and the initial innocent thought suddenly led to hot and passionate sex, to making love, to erotic and romantic sex, to quickies. 

The balls flew back and forth - they both fought fiercely for the victory, but Leila wasn’t making it too easy for him today.   
The balls flew back and forth, the shoes squeaked, the balls thundered against the wall and the glass pane, the rackets whizzed through the air.

They used little breaks to drink; they used little breaks to catch their breath. 

They had agreed on Best out of 3 - but if Martin had thought he got the match all sewed up after only two games, Leila thwarted his thought.   
Martin won the first game with hard work and a lot of gasping and panting with 13:11, but he lost the second game after a drinking and chatting break with 6:11 - he could hardly believe it.

The last game was quite exciting - the balls were bouncing and thundering fast through the air, they both ran across the field; from left to right, forward, back again, right, left. For a few points, Martin didn't need much stamina, but for others he had to fight quite a lot.  
But as soon as he scored a point, Leila made up leeway.  
It had been 18:18 when they had agreed on a little break - and during this Martin had announced cheekily and grinningly that he would now finish her off.   
Once again he had needed to fight.  
Only with 26:24 points he had won a second game with a lot of work and a lot of fighting.

Martin dropped the racket, bent down, supported his hands on his bare knees, gasped and panted and sucked the air in sharply.   
He was sweating - his hair was soaked wet, his T-shirt was sticking to his upper body, his skin was heated, his face was bright red.   
He felt her hand in his wet neck - the fingertips were rubbing across his neck; he shivered.  
He heard her voice at his ear – she was bending down to him, breathing heavily, sweating as well.

"I think your mind was elsewhere and distracted - I've never lost that good against you before," she whispered into his ear. 

Martin took another deep breath.

"Let's get our things and go to your place, so I can finally do what I've been thinking about all the time - and what almost cost me the victory." 

Leila laughed, but she couldn't wait to close her front door behind them.

The door to her apartment flew into the doorframe after five minutes of collecting clothes, paying and getting in the car.  
The door to her apartment flew into the doorframe after ten minutes of driving.  
The door to her apartment flew into the doorframe after two minutes of getting out of the car and walking to the third floor.

Each of the three apartments per house in this street, extended over two floors. 

They hadn't changed; they had just grabbed their stuff and went to her place.   
The clothes were still sticking to their bodies; Martin's hair was still damp, so was Leila's hairline; they smelled of sports.

Martin grabbed Leila; their lips crashed against each other, were kissing each other hungrily - the French kiss was joyfully enjoyed after less than two seconds.   
Martin pushed her to the antique desk that stood in the entrance area of the apartment and served as a storage space - he lifted her up, put her on the desk, felt her legs around his hips; he pressed her against the wall, kissed her hungrily and passionately, felt her hands in his sweaty hair. 

He couldn't bear to carry her up to the bedroom now, and her frantic moaning that he suffocated with his kiss told him quite clearly that she too did not want to wait any longer.

Longing and hungry their sweaty and smelly bodies were snuggling and more than ready to enjoy the erotically and hot site of a relationship.


	18. You are not Alone

_**\- Monday, October/14 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's house -** _

The light was burning in the large, spacious kitchen; the smell of pasta was in the air; the table was set.

The table was set for one person.  
A plate filled with pasta - wholemeal pasta, arugula, tomatoes, peppers, curry.  
A glass filled with water.  
A bowl filled with salad - green salad, red cabbage, white cabbage, tuna, tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese.  
A glass filled with red wine.  
The table was set for Martin by Martin.

He had just put the plate on the table, had just wanted to sit down, but the ringing bell made him stop.  
He looked at his pasta, which he had just cooked.  
He was hungry after the exhausting and not so lovely day.  
His hand detached from the chair; his feet carried him from the kitchen into the entrance hall.

Martin crossed the entrance hall, walked to the door, unlocked it and opened it.

A smile flittered over his face and he immediately took a step to the side.  
"Leila!", the warm voice rejoiced.  
He closed the door behind her and turned around to his girlfriend.

The blue eyes smiled at Leila, smiled at the love of his youth and best friend, who stood opposite of him with gentle eyes - there was a smile on her face too.

"Hey, Martin," she breathed and took a step towards him - she was coming straight from work.

She wrapped her arms around him as her lips were breathing a very gentle kiss on his lips, while one hand was caressing his back and the other lay on the back of his head. 

Martin wrapped his arms around Leila's waist, joined the kiss gently.  
It was lovely to see her unexpectedly, because they hadn't been appointed this evening - otherwise the table in the kitchen would not only be set for him, but for them.

"What are you doing here, honey?" he asked softly.  
"I came over to look after you," Leila said in a warm and affectionate voice. "You're not really surprised to see me today, are you?" she breathed compassionately. "How are you, Pumpkin?"  
"Actually, I'm not surprised. Nevertheless, I am always amazed that you look after me every year... ", he smiled softly and touched.

\-----Flashback-----  
 _\- Wednesday, October/14 - 1981, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Cresent -_

"He's not in the tree house either," 10-year-old Leila said, somewhat out of breath, looking at Philomena.  
"How long has he been missing, Mena?" Leila's father Thomas asked, putting his hand on Philomena's shoulder, who shrugged her shoulders in despair.  
"I don't know," she said desperately and scared. "I spoke to him two hours ago, and then he ran into his room and locked the door from the inside. I wanted him to open the door, but he just yelled at me in a crying voice that he wanted me to leave him alone. I didn't want to push or force him, so I waited. I just opened the door with the spare key a few minutes ago because it just took too long; I was worried about him. But he was not in the room, only his window was wide open,” she reported the truth in a desperate voice and close to tears. "He must have climbed out the window; he must have escaped over the roof of the conservatory," she said worriedly - knowing that Martin had already tried to trick a house arrest this way.  
Thomas looked at her reassuringly.  
"We'll find him, Mena. Don’t worry, maybe he just needed some air. We’ll find him," the deep voice said reassuringly.

Leila looked back and forth between the adults, but then she just ran away.

"Leila!" Thomas called after her.  
The 10-year-old stopped and turned around.  
"I'm going to look for him," she shouted.  
"You're not going to look for him all by yourself, Leila!"  
"I've walked through Aldershot all by myself to visit a friend - and that was two years ago, Dad!" she said stubbornly, then looked at Philomena. "I'll find him, I promise," she said, and then left the two of them - she ran down the street like a lunatic.

Her feet carried her to Willow Park - she was not afraid; after all, it was still bright outside because the day had just reached lunchtime.  
She had wanted to spend today’s day of the autumn holidays with Martin, but now her best friend was missing without a trace.  
Her feet carried her through Willow Park, along the lake – she was still running.

Her head, her heart, her stomach and her legs knew where her destination was. 

If Martin run away and was not sitting in the tree house, then he could only be here; here in the Lakeside Nature Reserve - because otherwise she wouldn’t be able to think of a place Martin would go to right now and in this situation.  
He just had to be here - here in the Lakeside Nature Reserve, in the forest; in the forest by the ancient tree, which almost looked enchanted.

She ran and ran, ran along the water, ran along bushes and trees, ran into the forest at a fork in the road.   
She ran and ran, ran across the forest floor, her head worked like a navigation system, she didn't have to think.

She heard a sob - she heard it in her ears 13 minutes after she had left Culverlands Crescent.

She heard a sob, saw her best friend sitting on one of the very thick, low-hanging branches of the ancient tree - the thick branch was hanging so low that Martin's feet were almost touching the forest floor.

Her best friend was sitting on the thick branch wearing jeans and a sweater and was crying so hard that it broke her heart.

Slowly she ran towards the sobbing 10-year-old boy.  
She took off her jacket, put it over Martin's shoulders, who didn't even flinch, just cried.  
Leila sat down next to him, her feet almost touched the forest floor as well.  
She put one arm around him, felt that he immediately lowered his head onto her shoulder. 

"I'm very sorry, Pumpkin... " she murmured sympathetically and sadly. "Your mum told us. She was looking for you," she murmured softly. "I'm sure the others are on their way now too, because you weren't with us or in the tree house," she whispered, holding him close.   
Martin sniffed, rubbed his teary and crying eyes, couldn't stop crying bitterly and heartbreakingly.  
"It's not fair," he sniffed sobbing.  
"Yeah, that's right. It's very mean," she murmured sadly. "I'm really immensely sorry, Pumpkin," she cuddled him. "You're not alone... I'm here," she whispered. 

The ten-year-old was still sniffling, still sobbing, saved himself into the hug of his best friend.   
He managed to lie down on the thick, broad branch, curled up like a ball, his head resting on Leila's lap.  
He felt the jacket on him again, it warmed him immediately.  
A hand stroked timidly over his blonde hair, while he sniffed and sobbed, while he trembled and shivered, while he pulled up his nose and rubbed his crying eyes - his face was already sticky, his throat was already pretty sore from crying.   
The 10-year-old could hardly believe that a few hours ago his mother had told him with a heavy heart that his father had died unexpectedly in the early morning.

He curled up even more, made himself really small, hugged his own body while he sought shelter with his best friend. 

"You're not alone, Pumpkin," he heard the pleasantly soft and caring voice again. 

Lying on the thick and broad branch of an ancient enchanted tree, he felt the caring and encouraging caresses in his hair.   
Lying on the thick and broad branch of an ancient tree, he sought shelter with Leila.  
Lying on the thick and broad branch of an ancient tree, he found shelter with Leila.  
Lying on the thick and broad branch of an ancient tree, he thought of his dad, because his dad had introduced this ancient enchanted tree to him and Leila in the first place.

\----------End of Flashback----------

He had never been alone when the anniversary of his father's death had knocked on the door.  
He had always had company on this day in one way or another - friends, colleagues, his children; he had mourned with his siblings, even exchanged lovely stories about him with them; and his mother had never left him behind and alone with it, nor had his stepfather.  
But it was Leila who had been with him every year since his father died.

Leila always visited him and spent time with him when he was not out and about.  
Leila always found a way to be there for him when he was not in London.

Every year, Leila was at his side - in one way or another. 

Back then they had spent some time at the ancient tree until he was able to make his way home with Leila.  
There hadn’t been a bollocking, they had only hugged him, they had all hugged each other.  
But when everything had become too much to cope, he had sought shelter with Leila again - after his mother had not been able to calm him down, after even Jamie had failed. He hadn’t fled to Leila, he had asked - and so, Leila had been allowed to stay with him overnight.  
He had found protection and safety with her, not only that day but also in the days after.

He thought back to that day with delight and reluctance.  
It had been wonderful to see how self-sacrificingly Leila had looked after him, but unfortunately this touching story of their friendship was connected with a heartbreakingly sad event.   
He had come to terms with his father's death, but he still missed him terribly, sometimes more sometimes less - especially at Christmas, on the anniversary of his death, when he was at a premiere of his own movie and he wished to see his father proudly in the crowd.   
He was simply missing him, a lot and very often - when he had wanted to tell him that Leila was his girlfriend; when he had wanted to talk about how to do it right with Leila in terms of sex; when he had wanted to tell him that all went well and that they had just experienced their first sexual intercourse; when he had wanted to get drunk with him; when he had been accepted at the Drama School in London; when he had his breakthrough; when he had become a dad for the first time; when he had become a dad for the second time; when he had confessed his love to Leila again and had enjoyed this very special love comeback.  
And these were only a few examples.  
His dad had been very fond of Leila - and it had been his dad who, just a few weeks before his death, had prophesied that he would end up with Leila some day; well, actually he had prophesied that he would call Leila his wife one day.  
If you break it down to the prophecy of a relationship, then his father had hit the bull's eye with this prophecy first five years later and then again 38 years later. 

Martin looked gently at Leila.  
"I'm alright," he said. "It wasn't a nice day, but it hasn't been a nice and lovely day for the last 38 years. But it was okay. I just miss him," he said. "Thank you for coming over. It's lovely not to be alone - it's lovely to see you."  
Leila lovingly patted the back of Martin's head  
"I told you back then that you're not alone, Pumpkin," she breathed softly. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I miss him, too," she said softly and stroked the back of Martin's head, rubbed across Martin's back. "Can I do anything for you?"

"You're already doing the best thing you can do for me. You are here," he muttered in her hug, enjoying her gentle caresses and her calm and loving voice. "It's incredibly lovely that you're here right now."  
Leila turned her head a little, kissed him on the cheek.

Martin had closed his eyes, enjoyed her closeness, enjoyed her protection, enjoyed her presence and her hug, enjoyed her care.  
His heart was beating faster, his tummy was tingling even more - he was really touched by her gesture; that she was with him and taking care of him once more.

His hand rubbed across her back.  
"Let's go to the kitchen, Leila," he breathed, now cuddling her.  
"Okay," she breathed.  
And again, she felt his rubbing hand on her back before they slowly stepped back. 

Leila followed Martin into the lighted kitchen.  
In fact, her best friend and partner looked quite good and composed today, even if you could tell that something was bothering him.  
But there had been years when he had looked completely different - much more depressed, much sadder.  
There had been years when he had shrunken into his shell.  
There had been years when he had cried and sobbed.  
She didn't want to leave him alone on that day, because even though he had generally come to terms with his father's death, he still missed him very much - and sometimes he could handle it better than in other years. 

Martin sat down in front of his pasta, holding a fork in his hand, which he had just pulled out of a drawer.  
He held the fork in the air for Leila, who sat down next to him and took the fork.  
Martin smiled at her, sat with her at the round table in the kitchen, sat close to her.   
He took the fork that he had put on the table for himself, pushed the salad, pasta, water and wine closer to Leila with his other hand so that they could help themselves. 

"Stay until you have to go to work tomorrow," Martin said in a warm voice. "Then you won't have to eat alone at home... and you won't be alone when you sleep," he breathed. "I'd be happy if you stay - not just because of Dad."

Leila moved even closer with her chair, now touching his thigh.  
She put her hand on his thigh while holding the fork in the other hand.

"I'd love to stay so you won't have to eat and sleep alone. And it's good to see you too, Martin," she breathed softly. 

She leaned over to him, exchanged a kiss on the lips with him.

"Great!" Martin smiled, looking a little more relaxed. He bent over, kissed her lips again. "I know, I've already thanked you, but… thank you, Leila! Not just for today, but for all the other years as well. I really appreciate it and it's lovely to never be alone on this day," he smiled gratefully. "And it's especially lovely to have you here right now, even though we had no date. I am happy that you are staying and that we can spend the evening and the night together." 

Leila smiled, poked a noodle with her fork and held it in front of his mouth.

"You know, I can't leave you alone on this day," she smiled and fed him his food. "You really don't have to thank me for that. And I know you appreciate it very much, Martin," she breathed softly and now poked a noodle for herself. "I am looking forward to the evening and the night with you," she smiled and put the fork in her mouth. "Hmmm, ... excellent as always," she raved about the pasta.

Martin smiled, eyed her while she was enjoying his pasta. 

The day had been exhausting and not really nice and lovely because of the anniversary of his father's death - but having Leila with him made him feel much better, more comfortable and relaxed, not depressed and sad anymore. 

It was nice not to be alone.  
It was nice to be alone together with Leila.


	19. In the Middle of the Street

_**\- Saturday, April/17 - 1976, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Home of the Chaplin Family -** _

**Flashback**

Leila knelt on a chair in the kitchen – she was waiting.  
She knelt on the chair with a T-shirt, blue tights and slippers - she looked out of the window.  
She was looking along Culverlands Crescent, even so she was supposed to be in the bathroom brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed with her mother.  
But she had stubbornly refused to do that.

"You’ll see him tomorrow, darling," Victoria said to her four-year-old daughter, who was staring out of the window patiently and stubbornly – she was staring out of the window for quite some time now.  
"But you said they'd be back tonight!" Leila said in a bright voice. "And I didn't see him yesterday either."  
"Of course, you saw him yesterday, darling. You walked them to the bus with daddy and said goodbye to Martin."  
"But that was only for a short time and it was ages ago! That was before breakfast, Mummy."  
Victoria smiled.  
"Then I’m sure you'll manage to wait until the morning, love. It’s just a few hours."  
"Nah! I won’t.", Leila shook her head and stared out of the window.

Thomas came into the kitchen, rubbing his wife's back.  
"I don't think you'll change her mind. Let her wait. It's the weekend, it's Easter Saturday... "  
Victoria turned her head to her husband.  
"Do you know when they wanted to be back?"  
"In the evening," he shrugged his shoulders. "The last train from Redhill should have arrived at the station almost half an hour ago; they should be here within the next few minutes at the latest."  
Victoria nodded, turning her head back to her daughter.

It was amazing how much her daughter and Martin liked each other; the kind of their close friendship was unbelievable; it was simply amazing how much they loved each other.  
Sometimes she didn't have the impression that the two kids were just best friends, sometimes they seemed more like twins, or Siamese twins - they were hardly separable.  
She loved this close friendship, loved the fact that her friend Philomena had been pregnant almost at the same time.  
It was lovely that the two of them were having each other, that they were able to grow up with each other, that they were having each other to romp and play, to fool around and rest, to go on adventures and so much more.

The friendship with Philomena and her family was remarkably close and intimate; and their friendship with Geoffrey, who wasn’t living with Philomena and the kids anymore but only a few streets away, was still remarkably close and intimate as well.  
Leila and Martin often spent time with Geoffrey.  
Geoffrey was a great and close friend of the family, and he had an extremely close relationship with his kids, especially with Martin - the relationship he shared with his older sons and his daughter wasn’t less loving and affectionate, but with Martin, he maintained the most intimate relationship.  
And her daughter's best friend spent every free minute with his dad - when he wasn’t at home or out and about with Leila. Actually, her daughter's best friend was hardly ever at home, because he was out and about with Leila in the immediate vicinity of their properties, was spending his time with Leila at her place or with his father.

Little Martin was a lovely boy and she couldn't have wished for a better best friend for her daughter - and she knew that her husband Thomas just thought the same.  
They were just absolutely cute and adorable together, and she loved to see them together - even though they could do even more mischievous things together than they were able to do alone; even more mischievous and cheeky things than all the Freeman kids together, even more mischievous and cheeky and sassy things than her husband Thomas, who had probably been the biggest scoundrel in the world at his time.  
The bad thing about their nonsense was that you could hardly be angry with them, that you forgave them quite fast, which was mainly due to Martin - he had already perfected his charming innocent smile two years ago and couldn’t only wrap Thomas and her around his finger, but also his parents, his stepfather, the neighbours and kindergarten teachers.  
But the two of them weren’t just sweet and cute and adorable together, weren’t just able to do mischievous and cheeky and sassy nonsense, they were also incredibly funny - they had laughed quite often about them, their ideas and actions, their words and facial expressions; it was wonderful what faces they were able to pull.  
Little Martin from across the street was simply an excellent companion.

"There he is," Leila rejoiced and jumped from the stool on which she had knelt.

She zigzagged her way through the kitchen, snaked past her parents, ran through the hallway in her slippers and opened the front door euphorically.  
She ran out, ran through the front yard.

Across the street, Philomena, James, Benedict, Tim, Laura, Jamie and Martin were walking along the pavement. They all had a bag in their hands, a small one or big one; only Martin didn't have to carry anything - although that wasn't quite the truth either, because he was holding his teddy bear.  
4-year-old Martin held on to his light brown fluffy teddy bear with the dear button eyes and the gentle smile - he held on to his teddy and raged while he was walking along the pavement.

"But I want to say good night to Leila!!!", he grumbled with a bright red face, now stopped demonstratively, crossed his arms and stamped on the pavement. "You're mean and nasty! You're all evil! I hate you, all of you!"

"You can stop being stubborn and grumpy," his sister Laura, who, like the others, had been listening to his angry grumbling and raging for nearly 20 minutes now.  
Her little brother had started to grumble and rage shortly after they got off the train at the station - because that's when he had asked their mum if he could visit Leila to say good night to her; but their mother had denied him this wish.  
They had walked from the station to Culverlands Crescent, and since the walk took roughly 20 minutes, her little brother was also already bitching, bucking, grumbling, cursing, scolding and being angry for about 20 minutes.  
Even his magic weapon, that daddy would have allowed it for sure, didn't help him today, as well as his tears, which weren’t fake but very real and from the bottom of his heart.  
For the last 20 minutes they had heard his voice without a break, and even her younger brother Jamie hadn’t been able to calm him down.  
She pointed to the other side of the street.  
"There she is - your Leila."

Martin fell silent for the first time since he had heard the "No" from his mother at the station.  
His eyes were red and teary; his face was red and wet.  
His eyes got big; a beam and sparkle immediately appeared on his face, which no longer looked red and angry and grumpy, but quite relaxed, as if he hadn't raged and sworn like a trooper and cursed like an adult for the last 20 minutes.

He ran towards her, was just running onto the street like his best friend Leila.  
Here in their street there was hardly any traffic anyway; nothing was going on in their little street, which had a turning point at both ends since you could only reach and leave Culverlands Crescent via a small access road.

Martin and Leila ran onto the street, weren’t held back by anyone.

They ran towards each other.  
Martin smartly dressed and with the teddy in his hand.  
Leila in a T-shirt, blue tights and slippers.  
They flung their arms around each other’s necks.

"Ginge!" Martin cheered in her arms.  
"Pumpkin!" Leila rejoiced in his arms.

Only recently, they'd made up two nicknames for each other while playing in Martin’s bedroom.

They held each other tightly, cuddled each other, jumped happily and joyfully on the spot as they hugged each other.  
Joyfully they pressed a kiss on their soft skin - it smacked softly.

"I missed you!" Martin said.  
"I missed you too," Leila nodded.

They didn't let go.

A hand patted Martin's head - it was James.  
A hand stroked Leila's head - it was Thomas.

"Can you two say good night to each other? You'll see each other tomorrow when we go to the park to see what the Easter Bunny got you this year," Martin's stepfather said softly.

The two children hugged each other tightly, didn’t let go, hugged each other as if they hadn't seen each other for weeks, even though it hadn't even been 48 hours.

Glad that they had at least seen each other today, they obeyed to the two men.  
Leila had delayed bedtime for quite some time now and had discussed quite a lot with her parents tonight.  
And Martin knew that he had complained and scolded far too loudly, far too hard, far too grumpily and sweary and too angrily - he didn't want to push his luck, after all he hadn't been told off for his behaviour yet.

He gave Leila a sweet little kiss on the cheek.  
"Good night, Leila," he said happily.  
Leila pressed a sweet little kiss on Martin’s cheek.  
"Good night, Martin," she rejoiced.

Reluctantly but obeying, they let go of each other.

Thomas took his daughter's hand.  
James took the hand of his stepson.

The men smiled at each other, said goodbye - they would all see each other tomorrow to celebrate Easter Sunday together.  
They led the two youngest children from the street onto the pavement.

Leila turned around again, waving wildly at Martin.  
Martin had also turned around, waving with the teddy in his hand.

If they had the chance, they had to see each other at least once a day, even if it was only for a short 'good night, see you tomorrow'.


	20. Culverlands Crescent

_**\- Saturday, October/26 - 2019, London, City of Westminster, Bayswater, Queen's Gardens -** _

"Just kiss her," Joe grinned.

He and his sister were sitting in the car of their dad - they were on their way to Aldershot, to be precise right now they were standing in front of the house Leila was living in, waiting for her.  
Since they had left their dad’s house, he and his sister were talking to Martin - they had to make clear that they really wanted Leila as his girlfriend.  
They didn't know that Leila already was their dad’s girlfriend for a little more than a month now – their dad had kept his mouth shut pretty well so far and his acting skill had helped him keep this beautiful truth a secret; admirable, since he was a pretty bad liar in his private life according to Gracie.

Martin turned up the volume of the radio.

The 13-year-old looked at his 11-year-old sister with a grin – they were both grinning and smirking.  
The loud music wasn’t bothering Joe – if his dad turns up the volume of the radio, then he would just turn up the volume of his voice.  
He turned his head back to the driver’s seat again, while Gracie was still amused that her dad had simply turned up the volume of the radio so that he couldn't hear Joe anymore.

"Just in case you haven’t heard what I said due to the loud music,… " Joe said louder. "I told you to just kiss her, Dad."  
Martin grinned to himself.  
"Shut the fuck up now!... She's coming."

The passenger door was opened less than 10 seconds later.

Leila beamed and waved to the others, heard the loud music immediately - how could she have missed that.  
She leaned over to Martin, hugged him friendly, cuddled him intimately but friendly - a kiss on the right cheek, a kiss on the left cheek, while she was also hugged, while Martin also gave her a kiss on the left and right cheek.  
One harmless hug, two harmless kisses - although they would have preferred to exchange much more.

"Hey, Martin."  
"Hello, Leila."

They smiled at each other, and then Leila turned to Joe and Gracie, who were already sitting on the edge of the back seat, eagerly waiting for her warm welcome.

Leila squeezed her body through the front seats, cuddled Gracie – she rubbed lovingly across her back, breathed a kiss on Gracie’s cheek, felt a kiss on her cheek, too.  
"Hey, darling... ", she smiled at her and hugged her warmly.  
"Hello, Leila ! It's amazing that we're all going to Aldershot! It'll be perfect."  
"I'm sure it will be perfect," Leila smiled, then turned to Joe.

She opened her arms for him, felt his warm and joyful hug, returned his hug lovingly, rubbed his back and gave him a kiss on the cheek - and she felt a kiss from Joe on her cheek, too.  
"Hello, Leila! We've all been looking forward to seeing you," he said.  
"Hey, sweetheart! I've been looking forward to seeing you too."  
She leaned back, but still looked to Joe and Gracie.

Leila's smile turned into a grin.  
"Did you piss off Daddy, or why is the music blaring through the car like that’s a disco-car?"  
Gracie grinned in amusement.  
"Daddy thinks we teased him, but he totally overestimated the situation."  
Joe nodded.  
"He just has no patience," he grinned broadly. "We weren't a pain in the ass, we were actually really nice and kind and sweet, but he won't see that."  
Martin turned the music down, but he had heard it anyway.  
"To call it teasing wasn’t exaggerated but understated."  
He heard the laughter of Gracie, Joe and Leila.  
Leila wiggled her eyebrows, still looking at the children.  
"Daddy’s always… so dramatic and impatient."  
"You three shut up now, sit down properly and look out of the window," Martin said and started the engine of the car.

And indeed, Joe, Gracie and Leila sat down properly, kept quiet and looked out of the window - a grin was on their faces; a grin appeared on Martin's face as the car rolled through the street.

The silence had lasted less than two minutes - they had only turned left at the end of the road, followed the next one straight to Hyde Park, and when Martin had turned to the right at Hyde Park, he had heard Gracie's voice again.

It took you 55 minutes to drive from Leila to Culverlands Crescent.  
For 55 minutes, he had heard the voices of his children and the voice of Leila.  
For 55 minutes, he had not even been able to speak one word.  
For 55 minutes, he had listened to a conversation, many questions, many answers.  
For 55 minutes, he had heard them laughing and giggling over and over again.  
For 55 minutes, he had heard the music in the background.  
For 55 minutes, he had been quiet and had enjoyed the atmosphere in the car.  
It took you 55 minutes to drive from Leila to Culverlands Crescent, and he had enjoyed every minute of it.

The silence had also been nice since he was able to enjoy silence with Leila and also with his children without feeling uncomfortable.  
But the chatting, the questions, the laughing and giggling had been more fun and more enjoyable.  
He looked forward to the weekend with his kids and Leila.  
It was lovely to see Leila with his children - she loved them very much.  
It was lovely to see his children with Leila - they loved Leila very much.  
There was just one thing you could say about the four of them – never change a winning team. 

After 55 minutes, he parked the car in the driveway of Leila's parents since the driveway of his family home was currently blocked by his sister's car.

His family home had changed a lot, and he didn't even think about the renovations that had taken place over the years. He rather thought about the fact that his sister and her husband were now living in his family home.  
His mother was still living in the house as well - but Laura had moved back with her husband Alan when their stepfather James had died some years ago. They hadn’t wanted Philomena to live alone, even so she wouldn't have been alone at all since her best friends were still living across the street. 

The car came to a standstill, the doors were ripped open at the back - the children ran off the driveway, across the small pavement, across the street, on which hardly any cars were driving throughout the day.  
They ran across the street and flung their arms around their granny's neck. 

Leila and Martin turned their heads towards each other, smiling at each other.  
Martin put his hand on her thigh, rubbing gently back and forth.  
Leila put her hand on his and caressed his hand gently.  
Martin and Leila smiled at each other and briefly intertwined their fingers. 

They pulled their hands back again, exchanged a last smile, and then they got out of the car, too. 

Martin and Leila closed the doors, locked the car and walked across the street.

Joe and Gracie hadn’t only hugged Philomena, but also their aunt Laura, their uncle Alan, as well as Thomas and Victoria, who were like a third pair of grandparents to them; and Gracie couldn't resist telling them all about her daddies feelings for the love of his youth, and that he was too shy to tell her that he was madly in love with her all over again.

Martin and Leila beamed to the others, greeted them with warm and hearty hugs, were also greeted with warm and hearty hugs.

Martin opened his arms for Laura; he had not yet greeted his 58-year-old sister.  
He hugged her warmly, rubbed her back.  
"Hey," he smiled. "Thanks for the invitation."  
Laura hugged him very warmly, patting the back of his head – she loved her little brother very much.  
"Hey, little one," she smiled. "I'm glad you're here! It's lovely to see you," she rejoiced. "The four of you are looking like a happy family," Laura grinned whisperingly into his ear.  
"Gracie couldn't keep her mouth shut," Martin whispered.  
"You know your little princess pretty well," Laura smirked. "Come on, Martin – I’m sure you’ll be able to win Leila’s heart all over again. Just get your ass up, you little dork."  
"Of course, I know my little princess pretty well," he said. "She will come to me with a rueful posture, confessing it to me while giving me a hangdog look."  
Laura grinned.  
"And Daddy will forgive her immediately due to this hangdog look, cuddling her and giving her kisses." she smirked.  
"Probably." Martin sighed.  
He rubbed his sister's back again, then took a step back.

They had been welcomed warmly and heartily.  
Martin hadn’t only been welcomed warmly by Laura, Alan and Philomena, but also very happily by Victoria and Thomas.  
And Leila had been welcomed very warmly and joyfully by Philomena, Laura and Alan, too. 

As they had left London after breakfast, they had enjoyed a delicious lunch in Martin’s family home a few hours later.  
But they hadn’t only enjoyed a delicious lunch made by Philomena and Victoria, but also their conversations and family & friends time.  
Especially Martin had enjoyed it very much – his family home wasn’t far away from London, but he wasn’t always in London, and even if he was, he was mostly terribly busy due to his work. He was enjoying every minute he was able to spend with his family, and every minute he was able to spend with them meant a lot to him and was extremely valuable for him. 

Joe and Gracie hadn’t only enjoyed the conversations, the time with all of them and the food, they had also had quite a good time while playing Ludo. They hadn’t only ripped off their grandmother, but also their uncle; in a second round they had ripped off Leila and Thomas; and in a third round they had ripped off Laura and Victoria. They hadn’t played a fourth round with Martin, because they were able to play board games with him very often anyway, but they had clowned around with their daddy, who had tickled them while waiting for the lunch to be served - Leila had finally helped them. Even so they had been in the majority, they had been completely powerless – their daddy was a champion in tickling his kids. Leila had helped them, and then the three of them had taken revenge on him - their dad had begged for mercy, giggling and panting; and shortly afterwards he had been sitting at the dining table with tears of laughter on his face. 

That they were all extremely familiar with each other was obvious in their behaviour with each other. 

You could sense that they all loved each other very much, that they had known each other for a long time, that they appreciated each other very much.  
It was tangible that they were all absolutely happy to see and spend time with each other. 

And indeed, Martin had been right while greeting his sister a few hours ago.

Gracie came to him, climbed onto the armchair he was sitting on – she climbed onto his lap.  
She kissed his cheek innocently, looked at him repentantly and with faithful and rueful puppy eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed his cheek again.  
"Maybe,... it might very well be possible that I have told the others that you are madly in love with Leila all over again," she murmured and whispered very quietly - but Leila was very engrossed in a conversation with Philomena and Alan anyway. "I'm sorry, Daddy! It's just absolutely adorable and cute that you have fallen in love with your first girlfriend again," she whispered very quietly.  
Martin looked at her - he wasn't angry, why should he be? Truth be told, he concealed the important detail that he already confessed his love to the love of his youth again, that they were already reunited. But her sweet puppy eyes, her sweet words and apology probably would have disarmed him anyway – he liked it very much that his kids were on fire with Leila, that they were on fire with him being in love and on cloud nine.  
He put his arms around her, smiled gently at her, breathed a big fatherly kiss on her soft cheek.  
"Laura already told me hours ago, you little chatterbox."  
Gracie beamed, snuggled up into his warm daddy hug.  
"Not mad and grumpy?"  
"Not mad and grumpy," he whispered and cuddled her daddyish.  
"Great," she murmured. "Christmas is still a few weeks away, but you can keep all presents. I just want one thing – please, please, please tell Leila and make her your girlfriend again," she murmured softly. "Then you'll definitely be really, really happy again, and so will I."  
Martin hugged her tighter, cuddled her gently - he had to swallow, felt his heart beating hard against his chest; he was touched.  
"I'll see what I can do to fulfil your Christmas wish, sweetie," he whispered softly, knowing that he had already fulfilled it.  
"If you fulfil it before December the 1st, I will make you another list for Christmas," she grinned.  
Martin laughed.  
"I knew it. And what would be on that second list?"  
"Celebrating Christmas with you; seeing you 365 days in 2020; twelve massages for my feet; fifty coupons for not being told off if I don’t listen to you or do something stupid; duct tape..." she enumerated.  
Martin laughed again, but cuddled her a little more, rubbed her back, kissed her cheek fatherly soft.  
"Christmas with me won’t be a problem, we’ll ask mum. Seeing me 365 days will probably only work if Skype and FaceTime count, sweetie. Twelve massages for your feet are possible. Fifty coupons for not being told of if you don't listen or are doing something stupid, well, listen darling, you can fucking say good-bye to that," he grinned. "You would have used all of them in the first two months anyway." He heard Gracie giggling. "And why do you need duct tape?"  
"I'm going to beg mum so long that she’ll be very annoyed and happy to have a quiet Christmas without us. Skype and FaceTime will have to count, for better or worse. And I need duct tape for Joe – to mute him when he gets on my nerves."  
Martin laughed again.  
"Then the both of you will probably be sitting at home with duct tape covering your mouths," he grinned and breathed another kiss on her cheek; he hugged her lovingly and tenderly. "Gracie, I love you so much, okay? I love you more than anything else, and I'd love to see you 365 days a year, not just in 2020. I'm going to try to spend more time with you next year,… more than this year - without Skype and FaceTime, okay?"  
He felt a hearty kiss on his cheek.  
"I love you very much too, Daddy. And I know you're trying really hard to spend a lot of time with us – and you already doing your best, Daddy. I know you miss us – and we miss you, too. I just wanted to tell you that I love you so much that I could spend every day of the year with you.”  
She gave him another big kiss on the cheek, leaned back a little, saw the soft and touched look on her daddy’s face.  
She beamed at him and pursed her lips.

An innocent, harmless papa-daughter kiss was exchanged on their lips.

Gracie and Martin had needed to interrupt their cuddling because the others had wanted to go for a little walk in Willow Park with them. 

The fresh air had done them good, and so had the walking, but when they had all been back in the cosy warmth, they had retreated to the living room, lit the fireplace and sat lazily on the sofas and armchairs.  
Everyone except Martin and Leila, but they weren’t even in the living room with the others.

Martin put his arms around Leila's body, nestled his body against hers, breathed a kiss on her cheek, breathed a kiss on her neck.  
Leila purred softly, closed her eyes, stood at the kitchen counter - they had actually volunteered to cut and prepare the cake and make the tea and coffee, but now Leila put the knife down, laid it on the kitchen counter, put her hands on Martin arms.

"...Martin..." she muttered, enjoying his sweet touches and kisses.

Martin slowly turned her around, let his hands wander to her bum, beamed at her with blue glittering eyes.  
He caressed her bum, leaned forward a little bit, stretched his head up a little, breathed a kiss on Leila's forehead.  
Gently he massaged her bum as he kissed her forehead again and then her nose.  
He pushed her closer, capturing her lips.  
He kissed her tenderly, let his lips dance tenderly with hers.

"We'll get caught…" Leila murmured against Martin's lips.

Martin sucked gently on her lower lip, bit teasingly into it, breathed a tender kiss on her lips.  
His nose nudged hers as he kissed her - it was hard for him to get away from her, hard for him to resist those lips.

"We won’t. They're all sitting lazily in the living room - none of them will get up. They're happy that we're taking care of the cake, the tea and the coffee," Martin smiled. "We can share a few kisses,... the coffee isn’t ready anyway," Martin purred. 

Tenderly he seduced her into a new kiss.  
Gently his teeth nibbled at her lower lip, his tongue licked over it - he nudged her tongue.  
He seduced her into a deliciously and loving French kiss.

His tongue danced with hers – tenderly.  
His tongue played with hers – charmingly, gently and slowly.  
His hands stroked gently from her bum to her back, stroked tenderly over her shoulder blades, over her shoulder and cupped her face.  
His thumbs caressed her soft cheeks.  
He no longer felt her hands on his neck but on his bum, felt her fingertips crawl up his back, felt the fingertips on his shoulder blades, on his neck and then in his hair.  
Her hands were buried in his grey hair while she purred and sighed into his delicious French kiss. 

They were in their own world, enjoying the French kiss, pausing it just to catch their breath, but with their eyes closed they exchanged sweet and small kisses before their tongues danced very savouring again. 

Tenderly Martin bit her lower lip, paused the kiss again - his eyes were still closed. 

"This love comeback last month was the absolute highlight of this year. It's been a few weeks, but I’m still feeling like I’m on top of the world. It's amazing to be loved by you again, to have you at my side again," he murmured against her lips. "I love you, honey – I love you so very much. And it's great to spend the weekend in Aldershot with you and the kids."  
Leila enjoyed his muttering lips against hers. Her eyes were still closed, her hands still in his hair, and she still felt his hands on her cheeks.

"I could just hug the whole world. The last weeks with you have been breathtakingly beautiful - and as I've said several times, don't get any stupid ideas in four years," she breathed softly. "It's fantastic to be here with you, with you and the kids," she murmured at his lips. "I love you, baby. Gosh, I love you so much."  
Smiling, they breathed a gentle kiss on their lips.

"We can just agree! We couldn’t think of a better place to be right now - and we love you too! Very much!" Joe said calmly and very gently, but then he scolded. "You fooled us, you mean nasty dorks!"

Leila and Martin stopped their kiss abruptly.  
They opened their eyes, Martin turned around - their eyes became big, their hearts raced fast and loud.  
Leila and Martin did not only look at Joe, they did not only look at Joe and Gracie. 

Joe had only wanted to pass on his sister's wish - instead of tea, she now preferred a hot chocolate.  
But when he had entered the kitchen, he had found his dad and Leila snogging amorously.  
He had hurried back to the living room, being enthusiastic - and had persuaded all of them to go into the kitchen with just one sentence:  
"Dad and Leila are making out in the kitchen!"

Leila and Martin not only looked at Joe and Gracie, they also looked at Philomena, Thomas, Victoria, Alan and Laura.

Leila bit her lower lip and stroked the loose strands behind her ear.  
Martin rubbed his neck, his cheeks were bright red, his ears were glowing as well.

The eyes of the others sparkled and beamed. 

Joe had crossed his arms in front of his chest, but the eyes glowed enthusiastically.  
"You fucking fooled us! But since you were making out like the biggest lovebirds on planet earth, I'll not tell you off for the nasty act of holding back that beautiful truth."

Alan beamed, giving them the thumbs up.

Thomas beamed broadly and enthusiastically.  
"Fantastic! Don't make me wait that long ever again for something."  
He didn't like the news of the break-up back then. He had always compared every other boyfriend of his daughter with Martin – they had been quite nice and had made his daughter happy, but in his opinion they couldn't keep up with Martin; no one could keep up with Martin from across the street.

Gracie jumped up and down enthusiastically, showing them the thumbs up joyfully.  
"You fooled Joe and me, but you're just too sweet and cute and adorable; I won’t tell you off – but never hold back something beautiful as this ever again!" She said and then grinned happily and enthusiastically at her dad. "Now wish list number two is active."

Philomena's smile was huge, she was as happy as the others.  
"Don't dare to ever tell me again that you've split up! I'll lock you in a room until you change your minds, if you ever will disobey to that order."  
The separation back then had made her extremely sad, even though she had liked Martin's other girlfriends as well - but Leila had been special, and she still was.  
She was incredibly happy – and if she would be younger and fitter, she would just jump up and down as happily as Gracie. 

Victoria beamed to her daughter and Martin - she too had been quite shocked when her daughter and Martin had broken up. She had understood why they had done it, but she had been extremely sad about it because she had hoped that Martin would be the first and last one. Now there was a second chance for him to be the first and the last.  
"I agree with everyone else," she beamed. "Aww, you two! It's great to see you as a couple again!"

Laura looked at Martin and Leila radiantly, was as happy as the others - she too had been completely satisfied with Leila as her brother's partner, and had actually already heard the wedding bells ringing, as well as the good news that Leila was pregnant with their first baby.  
The disappointment had been massive when Leila and Martin had split up, even so she had understood their decision, too.  
But what she had just seen was simply wonderful.  
"I haven’t seen or heard anything this year that has been more beautiful than this smooching and your confessions of love."

Leila stroked her hair behind her ear again; she turned to Martin, who still had red cheeks and glowing ears.  
She knew that their parents and friends hadn’t expected them to ever split up, that they had been sad about it; she knew that their parents and Martin’s siblings had hoped for a wedding and a first grandchild, nephew or niece. 

"I told you we'd get caught..."

Martin's glowing ears disappeared, and suddenly the red cheeks were no longer visible - he too was well aware of what their family and friends had been waiting for back then; he too was well aware of their disappointment about the separation; they had been as disappointed and sad as he and Leila at the time. 

"Well,... at least now we don't have to hold back anything any longer – and we don’t have to sneak to the other after going to bed for a snog and a cuddle," he said charmingly.

Gracie beamed.  
"It's so superdooper cute! Kiss again. Please!" She begged.  
Martin turned his head to the others who were still standing in the kitchen as if they were watching cute animals in the zoo.  
"Will you all stare at us like this for the rest of the weekend every time we are standing or sitting next to each other?"  
Thomas grinned.  
"Yes! We will, after you just split up, instead of getting married and having kids."  
Martin turned his head to Leila.  
"I don't think we have a choice here."  
Leila smiled.  
"I think so too."  
Gracie beamed as much as the others.

Martin leaned over to Leila, kissed her gently, put one arm around her - his heart was beating strongly.  
He had been watched many times before, after all, he had kissed lots of times in front of a camera, with lots of people watching him and his co-worker.  
But this wasn't a kiss in front of a camera, but a kiss that testified deep love.  
Leila smiled against his lips, enjoyed the gentle little kiss - her heart was beating hard against her ribcage, not only because of his kiss, but also because the others staring at them.

Their lips breathed a second kiss on each other's lips, but then Martin leaned back a little bit.

"You are incredibly cute and sweet!" - of course the voice belonged to Gracie.  
"Gracie is annoying with her constant ‘cute’ and ‘sweet’, but you are actually just too cute and sweet," Joe grinned. 

Martin made a shooing gesture.

"You're all going back in the living room now! Just sit down. You didn't feel like preparing the cake, tea and coffee, so just stay away from the kitchen, sit down, wait, and let us snog until we feel to join you again."

The others grinned but listened to him – they were walking back to the living room, a big grin and smirk and happy smile on their faces, while they were raving about Leila and Martin.

Philomena didn’t listen to her son; she was still standing in the kitchen, looking at her son. 

"I'd rather watch my two lovebirds a little longer, after all, you've kept me waiting a very long time."  
"Mum,... just bugger off!", Martin grinned. "And don't run to all our neighbours again to spread the news.”  
Philomena grinned, actually turned around to walk away – but before she left for the living room, her 81-year-old self showed her youngest son her middle finger; artlessly, unbothered and with a big cheeky grin. 

Leila laughed heartily, looked after her, then looked to Martin.

"Did I just learn after all these years, that you have this 'naughty' habit of showing your middle finger from your mother?"  
Martin laughed with her.  
"She would vehemently deny it," he grinned broadly. "And snottily lie about it."

They laughed.

Martin pulled Leila into his arms again.  
He bit gently and playfully into her nose, before kissing the spot tenderly.  
"The coffee is ready, the tea is ready, and the cake is ready, but we could still share a few kisses,… the coffee and tea are still too hot anyway", he whispered.  
Leila smiled.  
"After they've just interrupted us, let's enjoy the snogging for a little while," she winked and bit his lower lip.  
Martin hugged her, pulled her even closer with the hearty hug, just got carried away in an intimate kiss with Leila.

And in no time Leila's hands were buried in Martin's hair again as Martin's hands were already busy holding her face tenderly again.


	21. News in Culverlands Crescent

_**\- Saturday, October/11 - 1986, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Home of the Freeman Family -** _

**Flashback**

Enjoying the start of the autumn holidays, 15-year-old Martin was sitting in the living room with his siblings, his mother and stepfather.  
The autumn sun was shining through the windows, right into the living room; the radio was playing 'Walk Like an Egyptian' by 'The Bangles'. 

His older siblings had joined him, his stepdad and his mother last night.  
Jamie and Tim would stay until Sunday evening.  
Laura and Benedict wanted to stay for a whole week.  
It was lovely to have them here; he loved his siblings a lot, loved to have such a big family. 

His oldest brother Benedict turned his head to him.  
"We wanted to go to the cinema later. And before that we wanted to go to the new shopping centre – someone said there’s an incredibly good ice-cream parlour and a little restaurant that makes delicious fish & chips. We thought about watching ‘Aliens’, which starts at 7.30 tonight. Would you like to join us?" His oldest brother asked - he was already 27 years old.  
Before Martin could say anything, his mother who was sitting in her armchair interrupted them.  
"I read about this film in the newspaper. It's just approved for 16-year-olds, Benedict."  
Benedict turned his head to his mother, shrugged his shoulders.  
"Oh, come on, mum. It’s just one year – he’s 15, and not a little kid anymore. Besides, we've been to the cinema so often, the man at the box office will probably let him in anyway – and Martin is with us and not alone," he said. "But of course, we could also watch 'Basil - The Mouse Detective' – it’s approved for six-year-olds."  
"You are a pain in the neck," Philomena smiled amused.  
Martin looked at his mother, then at his oldest brother.  
"I can't join you anyway. I have a date with my girlfriend."  
He ran his hand through his blond hair, rubbed across his neck.

Silence.

This living room had probably never been this quiet during the day - Jamie had even turned off the radio since he was sitting next to it. 

Silence - curious silence.

"You have a girlfriend?!?!", everyone asked at the same time.

Martin rubbed his neck again, ran his hand through his hair again, then rubbed his cheek. The blue eyes looked at his family, the cheeks were red, so were his ears.  
He was not embarrassed by the fact that he was having a girlfriend; he just felt uncomfortable since everyone was staring at him right now - and it was a strange feeling to reveal for the very first time in his life that he was having a girlfriend.  
The thought that they now also knew that he was kissing and touching a girl and was holding hands with this special girl made his ears and cheeks blush even more - now it was a bit embarrassing.

"Yes... yes, I have a girlfriend," he murmured. "Stop staring at me like that!"

Chatter started - his stepfather started it.  
"That's wonderful news," he said, without probing him; he just smiled.  
"Aww Sweetheart! What's her name? How do you get to know her?" His mother asked curiously and with a happy and joyful face; she seemed really thrilled that he was having a girlfriend.  
Laura looked at him, grinning.  
"Well, it’s about time. I thought we'd hear that sooner – you charming cutie."  
"She could join us too," Benedict suggested, being quite curious about his little brother's girlfriend.  
Tim also grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.  
"Well, congratulations little brother."  
"I hope she deserves you," Jamie said thoughtfully.  
The chatter stopped, they looked at him expectantly.

He looked into his family's faces, slid back and forth in his seat, rubbing his thighs.  
He quickly answered one of the questions.

"It's Leila," he said hastily.

The eyes of his siblings, mother and stepfather got big.  
Silence for a few moments - but Philomena couldn’t hold back her joy.

"Our Leila? Your Leila?" She asked with enthusiasm in her voice.  
"... Yes... " Martin murmured in a low voice.  
It was a miracle that she didn't jump out of her armchair to hug him euphorically - but she was sitting on the edge of the armchair, looking more than just happy and satisfied.  
"Sweetheart! That's just wonderful! Oh, that's fantastic! I am so happy for you and for the two of you. Leila! Aww, this is wonderful. She’s such a lovely girl."  
Martin blinked, wanted to say something, but his sister was faster than him.  
"Thank goodness you said her name. Leila’s a fantastic choice. I'm very happy for you," she beamed at him and then turned her head to Tim and Benedict. "You two owe me 10 pounds. I'd say you just pay for the ice cream, the movie and the dinner," she grinned and turned her head back to Martin. "We bet on who will be your first girlfriend some time ago - I said it will be Leila, they said that you’re just best friends."  
Martin looked at her with astonished eyes – he was overwhelmed.  
Philomena shook her head at her children's bet, James grinned amused, and Jamie stepped in, simply interrupting his sister.  
“I'm very pleased. She definitely deserves you," he beamed. "What are you two doing later?", he asked with interest, not wanting to keep on pestering Martin about the relationship since he sensed that Martin was feeling a bit uncomfortable right now - now that they all knew that he was having a girlfriend.

Martin focused on Jamie.

"We’re appointed in the Nature Reserve. She's still at the lido. And later we are going to meet Paul, Neil and Teresa at the youth centre." He looked at him, then looked at his watch. "To be honest, I have to go. I don’t want to be late. I don’t want to keep her waiting."

He got up, looked at the others, raised his hand - and then he fled into the hallway, happy that he actually had to leave, even though he could now stroll to the dating place slowly, in peace and calmly.

"Enjoy the ice cream, the movie and the Fish & Chips,” he shouted. "I'll be back at eight o'clock,... we'll have dinner at the youth centre," he added for his mum, grabbed his jacket, slipped into his sneakers, grabbed the key and fled out of the house.

The door fell into the lock.

"Adorable," his mother commented with a loving smile - and the others nodded with a big smile.

Martin hadn't slipped into the jacket, because the autumn sun warmed him with the sweater and the light blue jeans.  
He had comfortably strolled through Willow Park to the Lakeside Nature Reserve - past the water, past trees and bushes that already looked golden, but some of them were still green and magnificent.

For twenty minutes he had strolled through the nature and the sun before he reached a bench hidden in the middle of a lot of trees - but the bench was offering a wonderful view across the water, which was glittering in the autumn sun.

"Martin... ", he heard a very familiar voice as he laid his jacket on the bench.

He turned around and saw Leila on her bicycle.  
Her red hair was waving in the wind.  
His heart was beating faster, his belly was tingling, his knees were weak - he was beaming euphorically and amorously.

Leila slowed down in front of him, got off her bike, leaned it against the tree next to the bench - a bag was in her bicycle basket.  
She beamed amorously and dreamingly at Martin, took several steps towards him.

They smiled at each other, beamed amorously.

Martin took her hand in his, leaned forward a little bit, breathed a sweet kiss on her lips. He intertwined their finger - it was still a breathtaking experience to kiss her, even though they were kissing for three and a half weeks now.

"Hello, Leila," he said in a warm voice.

Leila wrapped one arm around him, hugged him, felt his hug, nestled her cheek against his cheek after that soft and warm kiss, loved the fact that he was holding her hand.  
And she had especially loved his kiss.  
It was amazing to be his girlfriend. 

They loosened their hug and with a smile on their lips they sat down on the bench, looking towards the glittering water.

Martin put one arm around Leila, pressed her gently against his body.  
"How was your morning at the lido?"  
Leila leaned her head against his temple, looked at the water - she enjoyed the sun, his closeness, her tingling tummy, her racing heart, her soft knees and his voice.  
"Great. It was fun. How was your morning? Did you do anything?"  
"We didn't do anything special. My brothers and sisters wanted to go to the movies and the new shopping centre later,... they wanted me to go with them, but I don’t have time for that since I’m on a date with my beautiful girlfriend,... which is much better than the movies and the shopping centre."  
Leila smiled amorously and turned her head to him.  
"Is that what you told them?", she smiled and beamed.  
"Not exactly," he smiled with red cheeks. "Only that I have a date with my girlfriend."  
Leila pursed her lips, breathed a kiss on his lips - it was just an incredibly beautiful feeling to feel his tender lips and to kiss him.  
"Do they know who your girlfriend is?" She asked with a big smile.  
"Yes,... they know that it is you," his eyes sparkled amorously, but his cheeks and ears were still red.  
He also breathed a timid kiss on her lips, loved to kiss her very much - and he loved to hear her voice.  
"I think my parents and the whole neighbourhood will know by now that I’m having a boyfriend and that it’s you," she grinned.  
"I think so, too," Martin grinned.

They looked at each other, had to laugh, then shrugged their shoulders.  
Their cheeks and ears were red, but they laughed with each other.

"At least we won't have to say it again," Martin said. "It was kind of weird and strange,.. since they now know that we kiss and hold hands and touch each other... "  
"And again, you're thinking too much," Leila smiled and winked softly. "We'll just walk hand-in-hand to the youth centre later, then Paul and Teresa will know without us saying a word."  
"I know. Just can’t turn it off,” he smiled - and then he nodded. "Good idea." He looked at her. "I like holding hands with you."

He pulled his arm back, didn't hug her any longer, linked arms with her, intertwined his fingers with hers. 

Leila beamed at him, loved to feel his skin, loved to feel his hand. Her thumb rubbed the back of his hand. 

"I like that too," she murmured. "And... I like kissing you," she said with a fast beating heart.  
"I like that too," Martin smiled shyly. 

He squeezed her hand, didn't let go, just moved closer to her.  
He looked at her lips, looked into her eyes, leaned in.  
Their hearts raced wildly.  
He closed his eyes, put his lips on hers.  
He kissed her gently.  
Wildly, the butterflies were dancing.  
He kissed her softly and innocently.  
He tasted her soft and tender lips.

They had kissed each other often in the last three and a half weeks – secretly while sitting on the ancient tree, secretly in their tree house, secretly in her room, secretly in his room.  
They had exchanged many kisses by now, but so far they had only exchanged sweet kisses or soft kisses, and cute little pecks - they hadn’t exchanged French kisses yet. 

Bravely but with a wild beating heart Martin dared to go a little further.  
Gently and timidly he let his tongue run over her lip - and with that, Leila's lips opened slightly.  
Tentatively and tenderly his tongue nudged at the tip of Leila's tongue. 

They broke away from each other ending their kiss.  
They looked at each other with red cheeks - it had felt strange, but also beautiful.  
They had only ended their kiss because it had been a very unfamiliar and new feeling.

Martin bit his lower lip.  
"May I do this again?" He asked her.  
"I like that you always ask," she smiled. "It would be great if you could do this again," she breathed with butterflies in her tummy.  
Martin smiled, turned towards her a little more, didn't let go of her hand while putting his left hand on Leila's cheek. 

The young blue eyes looked at Leila.  
The young face appeared soft and gentle, nervous but also relaxed, amorously and dreamy, and above all happy.  
The blond strands were gently waving in the light autumn breeze. 

The 15-year-old slowly closed his eyes, put his lips on Leila's; he kissed her tenderly and innocently.  
Again, his tongue licked across Leila's lower lip, again her lips opened slightly.  
Innocently and lovingly, the tongue nudged at the tip of Leila's tongue.  
Slowly and timidly he played with the tip of her tongue, tasted her tongue, felt her tongue against his - it was a new and interesting feeling, but a feeling he quite liked.

The 15-year-old had closed her eyes, enjoyed the tenderness of her boyfriend, enjoyed this new feeling of feeling and tasting his tongue - and she wondered why some of her friends had told her that French kissing felt terrible and wet.  
Yes, it was wet, but no,... it didn't feel terrible at all.  
Martin, by all means, was timid, attentive, tender and exploratory - the way he slowly tried a new form of kissing with her didn't make his kiss appear awkward, but simply loving.  
It felt amazing; it was exciting and thrilling. 

Leila joined Martin’s French kiss, played and danced timidly with his tongue, too.

When they ended their French kiss and they looked each other in the eyes again, they smiled shyly with bright red ears and cheeks.  
Martin bit his lower lip; Leila stroked her hair behind her ear.  
A smile appeared on their faces as the butterflies were busy, while their hearts were skipping a beat, while their knees were as soft as warm pudding.

"I don't think another French kiss would do any harm... ", the boy's warm voice said involuntarily charming and flirtatious. 

Leila's heart skipped a beat due to his warm and charming flirting voice - the butterflies danced even wilder, her knees felt even softer than warm pudding.  
She could only nod; she wasn’t able to say anything not after these charming and warm flirting words. 

Their lips captured each other hastily again, but then timidity and tenderness prevailed.

As beautiful as the view was, especially with the sun shining down on mother nature, Leila and Martin only had eyes for each other.  
They had enjoyed their very first French kiss too much, and now they could hardly stop with this new way of kissing.  
They checked out what they liked, explored each other, explored this new way of kissing.  
The French kisses were timid and gentle, tender and innocent.

They enjoyed a tender French kiss, sucked in the air, hugged shyly; another French kiss was shared, they sucked in the air again, hugged shyly again - they didn't stop or changed their kissing loop, only the way they hugged each other changed constantly; from shy to loving to cuddling and snuggling.  
It was a loop that made their hearts pound fast, that made the butterflies dance wildly, that made their knees soft.

Again, they stopped a French kiss, their lips were red, wet and swollen; they didn't know how many kisses they had already exchanged. 

Martin looked at her; he was beaming – his hand gently caressed her hair, stroked it behind her ear.  
They both sucked in the air - deep into their lungs.  
Leila beamed at him, had also turned to him, had put her arm around him – he was still holding her hand. 

Martin put his arm around her, pulled her into another hug, cuddled his cheek against hers - how had he been able to get himself such a gorgeous and beautiful girlfriend?  
They were sitting on the bench, hugging each other tightly as they were cuddling amorously.  
Leila closed her eyes, cuddled up to him, snuggled up to him, liked to feel his slender body against hers - how had she been able to get herself such a handsome and adorable boyfriend?

"It's pretty great to be in love," Martin murmured.  
"Yes, I like it very much too," she muttered. "Especially with you. You are very handsome."

"And you’re gorgeous, Leila," he whispered gently, still hugging her, still cuddling with her.

His hand rubbed across her back while he enjoyed their soft and snuggly cuddling.  
He remained silent with her - for a few minutes, they were actually looking at the glittering water.

"On Tuesday... ", the warm, nasal and young voice could be heard. "… Henry had bragged about making out in the locker room. He said it was disgusting but also pretty... hot. He said he snogged with Heather after his tennis practice last Friday. He's a complete idiot."  
"Henry and Heather are a couple?" Leila asked irritated.  
"Nah, I don't think so. I think they were just making out," he said, shrugging his shoulders as he fondled her. "Truth be told, they would be a perfect match with their snootiness and their bragging – well he and Tracy would be a perfect match, too. In any case, he has no idea and is a moron - who knows what he did; I can just say that it wasn’t disgusting to... make out with you. On the contrary, it was quite lovely."  
"Yeah, they'd would be a perfect match. I’m not even surprised that Heather just snogged someone. But she wasn't bragging about the snogging, at least not in the locker room. It's really annoying that they’re attending the same school. I was really looking forward to not seeing Heather and Tracy ever again after we left primary school," Leila said. "Olivia and Kate also told me that they didn't like it with their boyfriends, pretty wet and horrible," she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know how their boyfriends had kissed them, but I don’t think that French kisses are terrible; it’s not terrible to share French kisses with you. The way you kiss is very nice. It feels great to be kissed by you, especially because you are timid and attentive. Thanks Martin. Thank you for always asking me. That's very sweet of you. You're a sweetheart."  
Martin's cheeks and ears were red - he was flattered.  
He hugged her even tighter.  
"Thank you. I'm glad you like it. And you're quite sweet too, Leila," he muttered flattered; and then he pressed a kiss on her cheek.

For a long while, they sat on the bench, holding hands, exchanging kisses - on the cheek, on the lips, French kisses.  
For some time, they sat on the bench, cuddling and snuggling, watching the glistening water.  
For a long while, they sat on the bench, chatting and talking, laughing and grinning, blaspheming a little bit and making up wild and funny stories.

At some point they had made their way to the youth centre to meet their friends, who were not really surprised when Martin pushed Leila's bicycle and the two of them were walking towards them hand in hand - not only hadn’t they been surprised, but the three of them had grinned and announced in unison that it was about time.

With their friends, they had listened to music in the youth centre; they had chatted, they had played billiards, they had played at the football table and they had played Tetris at the gaming machines – it had been a great time.  
With their friends, they had dinner at the youth centre - sandwiches, a chocolate bar and Cola. 

And again, they had all made their way home on time.  
And again, Martin had pushed Leila’s bike while walking hand in hand along the streets to Culverlands Crescent. 

Their street, the whole street, the whole Culverlands Crescent had already known that they weren’t just best friends anymore but also a couple.

Martin pushed Leila’s bike to the home of the Chaplin family - on the driveway Thomas was busy with the family car. 

"Hey, you two," he smiled happily.  
"Hi, Dad," Leila waved.  
"Hello, Thomas," Martin smiled, bit his lower lip briefly - still holding Leila's hand.

Thomas smiled, came closer, pressed a kiss on his daughter's forehead before smilingly squeezing and patting Martin's shoulder - he was very happy that Martin was his daughter’s boyfriend; had joined the fan club right after Philomena had told him that Martin was Leila’s boyfriend, that this young boy from across the street was his daughter’s first boyfriend.  
And in the course of the afternoon the other residents of the street, all the residents of the other eight single-family homes, had also joined the fan club - Leila and Martin were quite popular in their street, and the street a closed community; for example, they were often enjoying barbecues and little street parties in the summer.

"Would you like to go to the community centre? The others are already there – well, Jamie, Tim, Laura and Benedict will join us after the cinema. There’s disco night for everyone today. Good music, dancing, ... cuddling and snuggling and snogging on the dance floor ... ", he smirked and winked.  
"Dad!"  
"What? I'm happy for you,” he grinned. “So, are you up for a dance, you two lovebirds? I promise we'll leave you alone, we won’t bother the two of you.”

Leila turned her head to Martin, looked at him questioningly - she had seen that her father was more than just thrilled about Martin being her boyfriend, and she could also see that Martin was quite relieved.  
Martin tilted his head, looked at Leila - he was extremely relieved that Leila's parents liked him that much that they allowed him without any doubts to love their daughter and to be her boyfriend.  
He was absolutely in the mood for a disco night in the community centre, because usually they played the music he liked - and when it was open for everyone today, it meant that they could stay as long as they wanted, as long as their parents didn't want to go home.  
He was very much in the mood to dance with Leila, and the sparkle in his eyes was just answering Leila's question.  
Leila smiled at him, squeezed his hand, then looked back at her dad - she couldn’t wait to enjoy the disco, the music and the dancing with Martin.

"We'll come with you."  
"Fantastic! Come on, give me the bike, Martin." Thomas smiled at his daughter’s boyfriend. "I'll just put it into the garage. Just get in the car with Leila,” he smiled at Martin.

Martin and Leila smiled at him, then beamed at each other - and after a quick unnoticed kiss, since Thomas was bringing the bicycle into the garage, they got into the car and leaned back comfortably.


	22. It's Pretty Great to be in Love

_**\- Sunday, October/27 - 2019, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, home of the Chaplin family -** _

They had needed to answer a few questions, but like all these years and decades ago their families had simply been happy for them and hadn’t bothered them too much with probing questions. 

The joy about their love comeback had been huge in the Freeman and Chaplin family; the news hadn't been announced to the neighbourhood this time, but of course, Laura had informed her other siblings about the beloved love comeback of Martin and Leila - with a secretly recorded little video; Martin and Leila making out in the kitchen. 

The afternoon and evening had been even more beautiful and relaxed by the now open secret, which hadn’t been a secret any longer, but only this special and breathtaking love comeback.  
They had been able to move freely, hadn’t needed to hold back anything, had simply enjoyed the family visit, the time with Martin's children and the time with each other.  
They hadn’t needed to hold back one touch, one kiss, one hug, their cuddling and snuggling - they had simply enjoyed themselves, here in Aldershot with Joe and Gracie and their families. 

And so, the afternoon and evening had become even more relaxed and beautiful for them. 

They hadn't planned to let their families and Joe and Gracie in on their love comeback; actually, they had wanted to enjoy it a little bit longer for just themselves, but sometimes things didn't turn out as planned, sometimes life just took things into its own hands, and often that was the much better way.  
They hadn't planned it for this weekend, but after they had been caught, after the secret had been revealed, they had felt freer; freer and happier. 

They had enjoyed cake, tea and coffee, the family time - and then they had stood in the kitchen again, at least some of them, to prepare a copious family dinner.  
They had had a nice dinner, listened to music, chatted, laughed; they had told old tales, and had also told Gracie and Joe detailed stories about Martin and Leila.  
They had sat together and reminisced, and Joe and Gracie had been listening to each story and tale attentively, barely getting enough of these old stories and tales. 

It had been a wonderful day, and most of all, there had been incredibly beautiful news for the ignorant.

It was already past midnight and the group had disbanded.

Philomena had gone to bed, but was still beaming and purely excited, still happy to call Leila her daughter-in-law again – she wouldn’t call her something else ever again.  
Laura and Alan cleared away the last small leftovers and talked extensively about the great love comeback with Jamie, Tim and Benedict, who had joined in via Skype.  
Victoria and Thomas had also just gone to bed but were still busy chatting enthusiastically about Leila and Martin.

Martin and Leila were just walking up the wooden spiral staircase to the tree house; Joe and Gracie were walking in front of them. 

They entered the tree house, which was still in very good shape, as Thomas regularly looked after it, mended it, tended it and cared for it, as well as the tree that housed the tree house - you could almost say it still looked like it had just been built.  
Joe and Gracie had been here before, but they had only slept in here – they didn’t know anything about the secret stash that existed here in the tree house, which contained a chest with many photos and letters - photos and letters that would have told them that Leila and their dad had once been a couple on cloud nine.  
They still didn't know about the secret stash, but that was the point of a secret stash. 

Martin bowed his head.  
"Do you really want to sleep up here? It's gotten pretty cold."  
Joe and Gracie demonstratively let themselves fall onto the large, comfortable, soft mattress that Thomas had also replaced many times.  
"Yes," Joe grinned. "You even spent New Year's Eve here, we just got told by Thomas,… in 1986."  
Martin smiled fatherly.  
"I just wanted to ask again. You've only slept up here when it was warm," he said with a caring voice.

Leila had picked up two outdoor fleece blankets, walked through the treehouse once again and stopped right in front of the cockpit.  
"These two blankets should help you get through the night," she smiled and threw the blankets next to them on the mattress, right onto the normal winter blankets. "You can come in anytime; we won't lock the patio door, but I've left a key for you on the armchair anyway, as well as the spare key from Daddy’s old house in case you'd rather go to Laura, Alan and Grandma," she smiled softly. "And my dad has prepared drinks for you on the table, in case you get thirsty."  
She smiled at Joe and Gracie.

The two children smiled joyfully.  
"That's sweet. That's really kind. Thank you. It's going to be fun," Gracie said.  
"And the tree house is cool," Joe smiled. "I'm sure it's fun to sleep here even when it's cold."  
Martin smiled, put one arm around Leila.  
"It's also fun when it's cold - but most of the time we didn't sleep much at all – not in those cold nights; then we were up to no good," Martin grinned.  
"Do you have any ideas for us?", Joe grinned cheekily.  
"I rather keep them to myself," Martin grinned.  
Leila laughed.  
"It's better this way," Leila laughed. "Especially for you two, or there'll be a grumpy and sweary dad for breakfast. He had just been outrageously lucky to not get caught - most of the times."  
Martin laughed, as well as his kids.  
"Hello?! YOU participated! You even suggested some of those mischievous things."  
"You're still the cheekier one; you better keep your ideas to yourself or you'll have to tell your sweethearts off at the breakfast table."  
Joe and Gracie were still laughing.

They beamed up to their dad and Leila - Gracie was grinning now.

"And when you were older and a couple, you were probably making out in those cold nights."  
"They were making out and snogging heavily," Joe grinned. "I'm sure they didn't need the fleece blankets back then either to keep each other warm and cosy."  
"Exactly," Gracie grinned.

Martin took a step forward; he bent down towards his children, who were still sitting.  
He pushed Joe and Gracie onto the mattress by nudging against their foreheads.

"Bedtime!" he grinned. 

Joe and Gracie laughed, grinned broadly up to him, then looked at each other, nodding knowingly.

"We're right – they were making out and snogging heavily" they said in unison while lying on the soft and cosy mattress.

Martin and Leila laughed along with Joe and Gracie - they laughed heartily and warmly with each other.

Slowly they calmed down, and so the laughter became a grin, then a smirk, then a smile.  
Martin smiled softly down to his children, crouched down.  
"Have you been to the toilet?"  
"Yes," Gracie confirmed.  
"And you brushed your teeth, too?"  
"Yes, when we went over with Leila's parents. The only reason we haven't changed yet is because these clothes are warmer," Gracie said - they had decided spontaneously to sleep up here in the tree house.  
"Okay," Martin smiled. "Do you need anything else?", he asked softly and fatherly.  
Both children shook their heads.

Martin knelt down onto the mattress, bent down to Joe, pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead.  
"I'll say goodnight then," he smiled, caressing through Joe’s dark blond hair. "Try not to talk all night long, but also to get some sleep - otherwise I'll get into trouble with mum if I bring you back completely exhausted and sleepy, without a proper night of sleep."  
Joe wrapped his arms around Martin’s neck, pulled him down a bit more and kissed his father's cheek.  
"She's always complaining about something these days anyway."  
"Exactly. That's why we don't have to give her another reason," Martin smiled, and breathed another kiss on his son's temple. "I love you, sweetheart."  
"I love you too, Dad," Joe beamed at him.  
Martin winked and smiled, then bent over to Gracie. 

He gave her a paternal kiss on the cheek.  
"Good night, darling," he muttered softly and lovingly. "It was lovely with you," he smiled.  
He felt a kiss on his cheek, she put her arms around his neck, hugged him.  
"It was awesome! I loved it, too. Sleep tight, Daddy."  
Martin smiled, let himself be cuddled by his daughter, breathed a second kiss on her cheek.  
"I love you, little one," he breathed very lovingly and fatherly warm.  
"I love you too, Daddy." Gracie mumbled and gave him another big kiss on the cheek.

He winked at them, then slowly got up again. 

Joe and Gracie looked expectantly at Leila, who was already kneeling on the mattress.  
She gently tousled through Joe’s hair, then nudging his nose.  
"Sleep tight, Joe."  
Joe sat up and hugged her.  
"You too," he said, and held her for a moment. "I think it's absolutely perfect that you're with Dad," he said, and then whispered. "He's madly in love with you; he’s really soppy on you – one can’t be soppier on someone than dad’s soppy on you," he smiled whispering.  
Leila smiled and whispered back.  
"It’s absolutely perfect, you’re right. And another little secret form me for you,… I'm madly in love with him too, and I couldn’t be soppier on him than I am.”  
Joe leaned back, beamed at her - he loved his mother, but he also loved Leila a lot and as a stepmom she was the ultimate jackpot.

Leila turned to Gracie, who had already sat up.  
They hugged each other - Gracie snuggled up to her; it was great to be put to bed like that, by her dad and Leila, so loving and warm.

Martin smiled with a strong beating heart, watching Leila and his children - what he saw and heard touched him, what he saw and heard made his heart warm and cosy, what he saw and heard sent a warm tingling sensation through his entire body.

Gracie gave Leila a kiss on the cheek.  
"In case I haven't said it yet," she smiled already. "Daddy and you,…you guys are gobsmacking sweet and cute and adorable.”  
Leila laughed and kissed her on the cheek.  
"Couldn't remember you saying something like that before," she grinned.  
Gracie laughed too, hugged her again, whispered into Leila’s ear.  
"You're the best thing that could have happened to Daddy. Please, please, please don't ever leave him again – he’s lost without you," she whispered softly.  
Leila smiled, she was touched by Gracie’s words. She rubbed across Gracie's back, whispered something into Gracie's ear - very softly.  
"I promise you, I won’t ever leave him alone again – because I’m lost without him, too."  
Gracie leaned back slowly, beaming at Leila, who stood up with a wink.

Martin smiled to his children, one hand was now lying on Leila's back.  
"So, if there's anything you need, just come in. Either to Leila and me or to Grandma, Laura and Alan. Otherwise, we'll wake you up when breakfast is ready - if you're not awake beforehand."  
He waved at them - the children waved too.

By the time Leila and Martin walked down the wooden spiral staircase of the tree house, Joe and Gracie were already engrossed in an enthusiastic chat about the their dad and Leila - and Joe didn't roll his eyes at the words 'sweet' and 'cute' and ‘adorable’ anymore. 

Leila and Martin walked through the garden, entered the house via the terrace, pushed the door into the frame but didn't lock it. 

They walked through the house, walked up the stairs and into the bathroom. 

"The day was really nice," Leila smiled as she pulled a toothbrush out of her washbag.  
Martin nodded as he pulled his toothbrush out of his washbag.  
"Yes, it was a really beautiful day," his blue eyes beamed as he pressed the toothpaste onto the toothbrush.

They smiled at each other, then stood next to each other at the wash basin, brushing their teeth – they behaved in the bathroom like a married couple who were still very happy and soppy on each other.  
That there was much more between them than several weeks of love, became clear when Martin used the toilet for a pee while Leila removed her make-up after brushing her teeth. 

Martin came back to the sink after flushing.  
Leila made room for him, let Martin wash his hands.  
And then she felt his lips on her cheek.

"I'll go to the bedroom, honey."  
"I'll be right there, baby," she smiled.  
"Take it easy, no need to hurry…" he winked softly, and breathed another kiss on her cheek.

His hand gently stroked her back before he left the bathroom.

When Leila came into her old bedroom after removing her make-up, undressing in the bathroom and going to the toilet, Martin was already in bed.  
The room had changed, was now another guest room, but the flair of the room had remained the same, even the new King Size bed was standing in the same spot as her old one.

Martin leaned against the backrest, had undressed as well – except for his shorts, and he had put on a new T-shirt.  
He had just crawled into the bed - he had been in the kitchen to get them something to drink for the night.  
He smiled at Leila, looked at her attentively, looked at her beautiful body, which was only covered by her panties and a T-shirt.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, sensing that she wasn't feeling well.  
"Yes, just a bit of a headache," she smiled gently.  
"Come here," Martin murmured and stretched out his arms.

Leila crawled into the bed, crawled to him, breathed a kiss on his lips, then turned around and sat down between his legs.  
She leaned back, leaned against his chest, closed her eyes.  
Martin smiled, breathed a kiss into her hair, buried his nose in her long red hair, which she had tied back into a very loose bun - the hair smelled fantastic.  
He put his hands on her shoulders, pushed her away a little bit; he let his hands massage her shoulders, let his thumbs massage her neck.

"Hmmmm," Leila sighed. "Thank you..." she murmured.  
"My pleasure."

His hands and thumbs massaged her shoulders and neck with gentle and soft pressure - he buried his nose in her hair again, closing his eyes.  
Leila sighed and purred, had closed her eyes, enjoyed his massage, his warmth, the snuffling nose in her hair.  
It was quiet and silent in her old room, it was almost completely dark, apart from the small bedside light. 

The thumbs and fingers took a little bit more care of her neck when he felt that her shoulders were no longer tense.  
The fingers were caressing her hair at the back of her head, the thumbs massaged her neck talented and attentive; he listened carefully to every sigh, every purr, every groan, every sharp inhaling. 

Leila relaxed more and more - the headache was just a dull feeling by now.

Martin loosened the bun, put the scrunchie aside, ran his hand through her hair from her forehead to the back of her head – and then, his fingers massaged her scalp.  
Leila purred and sighed.  
His fingers were gently running through her hair over and over again as he was massaging her head. 

Slowly, Leila leaned back, wanted to signal him that he had massaged her headache away.  
And indeed, Martin's hands slipped out of her hair, instead he put his arms around her, pulled her closer at her cleavage, cuddled his bearded cheek against hers.

Leila smiled, cuddled up to him, closed her eyes again, put her hands on his forearms.  
She moved her head slightly, rubbing her tender cheek against his bearded cheek, enjoying the feeling, enjoying the smile she was feeling.  
Martin smiled, enjoyed her rub, enjoyed her warm body against his.  
He felt her thumbs caressing his forearms. 

"It's pretty great to be in love," Martin muttered something he had mumbled to her 33 years ago.  
"Yes, I like it very much too," she muttered. "Especially with you. You are very handsome."  
she muttered like her 15-year-old self.  
"And you’re gorgeous, Leila." he whispered softly like his 15-year-old self.

They smiled, not remembering that they had exchanged exactly these words before in a similar conversation.


	23. The Red Queen is Shouting: 'Who You Gonna Call'

_**\- Thursday, October/31 - 2019, London -** _

The sky over London had become dark in the last few hours, not because the sky had closed up with grey rainy clouds; the sky over London had become dark because it had welcomed the autumn evening.

The back door of the black car, parked in front of the house, was opened politely and cavalierly.  
Martin held the back door of the car nobly open for Leila, who smiled gratefully at him, seeing his charming smile and his flirtatious wink. 

Leila slowly got into the car, grabbing the wide long-sleeved dress, which was red in the lower part with golden hearts and which was very tight and mostly black in the upper part.  
She wore black and gold boots and tights that had a black and white pattern but also showed red hearts and black spades.  
Her face was white, her lips were highlighted in a heart-shape with bright red lipstick, her eye shadow was light blue and her eyebrows had been covered with the white colour, now it looked like she was having extremely thin and black eyebrows.  
She had curled and styled her hair into a heart like the Red Queen of Alice in Wonderland, because her Halloween costume today was that of the Red Queen of Alice in Wonderland.  
She even wore a little golden crown.  
Leila made room for Martin, already smiled to the driver’s seat where Martin's driver and bodyguard Simon was sitting. 

"Hey," she smiled at him.  
"Hey, Leila," Simon smiled at her, staring at her. "You look great!" He raised his thumb.  
"You too," she smiled.  
"I look as good as ever," he smiled.  
"I know, but I didn't want to be rude by not saying anything about your usual outfit," Leila grinned.  
Simon grinned at her, then turned his head towards Martin and just grinned even more.  
"Helllooooo, have you caught any ghosts yet?"

Martin grinned to Simon - the grey hair was fluffily styled to the right side. He was freshly shaved, wore black frame glasses and a Ghostbusters overall, as well as brown shoes; the inflatable backpack was lying on his lap. 

"Yes,... I've already sucked in Joe and Gracie," he grinned cheekily - his quick-witted and cheeky reply made Simon and Leila laugh out loud. Martin grinned at the two of them, then gave another answer to Simon's question. "And apart from those two, I only caught the Red Queen, but I didn't want to go unaccompanied, so I didn't suck her in."  
Leila grinned with Simon, who wiggled his eyebrows.  
"Later, you the two of you can come back to the… sucking... ”  
"Turn around and get us to the party!" Martin grinned. 

He took Leila's hand, leaned back with her, intertwined their fingers – they both grinned. 

Simon turned around with a grin – he knew that Martin and Leila were a couple ever since he had driven them to the Abbey Road party; or rather, he had found out on the journey back home, because the two of them had forgotten, for a short time, that they weren't alone in the car.  
They had exchanged a kiss shortly before their arrival at Martin's house and then Martin had been grumpy with himself because he had revealed their secret just a few seconds before their arrival - they had actually already been only two houses away from Martin's house.  
But anyway, he had already wondered when it would happen - he knew Martin very well since he was working for him for several years now, but he didn't know that Martin had already been in a relationship with Leila decades ago. And yet, he had wondered why Martin and Leila didn’t end up with each other right after the split with Amanda since he had always had the impression that they were a perfect match.  
Simon started the engine - his destination was the Jonathan Ross Halloween Party.

Leaning back and holding hands, Leila and Martin had enjoyed the ride.

Actually, Martin had wanted to go as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland when Leila had told him her idea two weeks ago - and Leila had been quite enthusiastic about it, too, had told him that it would definitely look incredibly good on him; but they had finally decided against it, because they didn't want to attract too much attention, especially not with a costume idea that belonged together.  
In the end, the lurid press was only outside the property, but that might have been enough to get into the headlines together and cause speculations.

And they hadn’t been ready for these speculations, or rather hadn’t been in the mood for all these speculations right now since they wanted to enjoy their relationship in their private life with friends, family and colleagues before telling the beautiful truth to the public.  
Martin didn’t intend to hide the relationship with Leila for many months or, as with Jeanne, never confirm it, but he wanted to enjoy it a little bit without the public - it didn't really matter, but it was just a matter of principle.  
He knew that Leila was waiting for him, that it was his decision, when and in what way, how and where; he knew that she wanted him to choose the time and the place - and that was a lovely feeling.  
He didn't want to hide her - why should he hide this wonderful and gobsmacking woman or his intense love for her?  
But at the moment, he didn't want to share the happiness of his love with the press and fans, but rather enjoy it for himself. 

They said goodbye to Simon - the door was opened from the outside.

Luck was on their side, because they were not the only ones who had arrived and got out of the car at the moment, and so the photographers of the press did not pounce on them. 

They walked from the car onto the pavement, even kept some distance, and since the pavement was not too big, they even walked behind each other with some distance between them.

Photographers discovered Martin, photographed him while wildly running over the pavement.  
Leila was also photographed by other photographers, but apparently the connection between them was not seen, apparently neither of them seem to recognise that the Red Queen was the woman, who was at Martin's side in a friendly and harmless way from time to time - and therefore rather uninteresting. 

They walked along the pavement, mingled with other guests who had already arrived or were arriving at the moment. 

And only a few moments later they crept up onto the creepy decorated property where the party was already in full swing. 

Together they mingled with the guests a little more, disappeared from the entrance, walked into the house, which was also richly decorated and almost overflowing with guests.  
At the Halloween party some photographers were allowed to take pictures – but they were required to take pictures of the party and the guests, not to take pictures of kissing couples or sell these spicy pictures to newspapers - the photographers who were at the party were regulars, and enjoyed a great reputation.

Martin smiled at Leila.  
"That was pretty easy today."  
“We arrived at the most perfect time."  
"Absolutely." Martin smiled and put one hand on Leila's back.  
He leaned forward and kissed Leila's cheek very gently. 

Leila smiled and breathed a kiss on his lips – her thumb breathed gently across his lips to wipe away some of her lipstick.  
Martin's eyes sparkled to Leila, the soft thumb on his lips felt fantastic. 

"How are Joe and Gracie?" Leila smirked and let her hand gently caress Martin's cheek.  
Martin grinned, knowing that she was alluding to his quick-witted comment in the car.  
"After all these years they’re finally quiet and behaving themselves for once," he grinned cheekily. And then he smiled fatherly warm. "And the truth is, they're probably out and about collecting sweets, just like we were decades ago."  
Leila's eyes were shining bright and warm.  
"That was always fun. But partying is great too."  
"I like both ways to celebrate Halloween. But since we're not picking up candy on the streets, let's party tonight."

They had actually mingled with the guests in a celebratory manner.  
Not only Martin knew the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker, even Leila knew some of the guests personally due to her close friendship with Martin.  
They mingled with the guests, stayed with each other, separated from time to time, danced and celebrated, enjoyed the delicacies and snacks, the drinks and sweets.

They enjoyed themselves at the party, had a lot of fun - whether it was chatting, or eating, drinking, dancing or partying.  
But whenever they lost sight of each other for some time, they found each other automatically, without having to search in the big house and on the big property.  
It seemed as if they knew where the other one was at any time. 

At the moment, Leila was standing in the very large kitchen of the house with the Little Britain star David Williams - right at the source of a very delicious puff pastry snack.  
David Williams had dressed up as James Bond villain Blofeld in a quite impressive way - he even had a white plush cat on his arm. 

They were probably standing here for half an hour now - chatting animatedly while they ate the puff pastry snacks and enjoyed a few drinks. 

David saluted Martin, who entered the kitchen as if he had known that he would find Leila right here - although that was true, because after all Leila loved to eat, and the kitchen was not only the source of the puff pastry snack, but the source of all goodies, sweets and snacks.  
Martin had a beer in his hand, and he also saluted David as he came closer. He stopped next to Leila, smiled at her, put his free hand on her back, breathed a kiss on her cheek.

David put down his drink, smiled at them, had danced with them earlier, and so the kiss on the cheek no longer surprised him.  
"I don't know who looks better on whom," he smiled. "Whether you look better on Leila, or Leila looks better on you."  
He stroked the white plush cat on his arm.

Martin and Leila's voices sounded in unison. 

"She definitely suits me better than I suit her," he said with a convincing voice, actually saying that she looked much better than him - not only because of the costume.  
"He definitely suits me better than I suit him," she said with equal conviction, only expressing that he was a very attractive and handsome man, and that he dandifies her.

David grinned broadly, stroked the stiff plush cat.  
"You were pretty cute when you were best friends, but I'd say you've doubled that now. You’re literally adorable cuties."  
Martin grinned.  
"Well, you can team up with Gracie."  
"Why?" David grinned. "Has she established a fan club?"  
Leila laughed, shook her head.  
"No, but whenever she talks about us, she uses the words 'cute' and 'sweet' and ‘adorable’ quite a lot."  
"Quite a lot is a fucking understatement," Martin said. "Every other word is either 'cute' or 'sweet' or ‘adorable’."  
David laughed.  
"If she ever establishes a fan club, please let her know I'd like to join."  
Leila laughed, Martin rolled his eyes in amusement, but then he had to laugh too. 

They looked at each other laughing, grinning, smirking, smiling again. 

Martin pointed to the cat on David's arm.  
"That cat is fucking spooky," he said. "Or rather that you pet it as if it were real." Martin said.  
David petted the cat's head and back, then tickled its head with his fingers again.  
"That's just nice and soothing," David grinned.  
"No, that's fucking creepy and crazy.", Martin grinned.

Leila grabbed some of the finger food while David stopped caressing the cat; he reached out his hand to Martin's hair - caressing the grey soft hair.

"I can caress you, if you like that better - it feels softer than the cat," he grinned.  
Martin grinned, looking up to David.  
"Just pet the cat," the warm voice grinned. 

They laughed, waiting for Leila, but then when she was done eating and snacking the three of them left the kitchen. 

The time passed, the alcohol level rose, the mood was relaxed and exuberantly.

Martin and Leila were standing in the garden, getting some fresh air with many others, some of whom had been partying out here the whole time.  
Martin and Leila were standing next to each other, both had already drunk quite a lot, their eyes were already shining drunkenly, although they had eaten quite a lot too. 

Martin was holding a plate with creepy looking cookies, a cupcake with delicious pumpkin filling, and strawberries dipped in white chocolate that looked like fat ghosts due to two brown chocolate eyes.  
Smiling, he followed Leila's hand as she took one of the cookies - he had just filled the plate, had asked Leila if she wanted anything, who had answered with a simple 'No'.  
Leila smiled at him, winked at him, then bit into the cookie that looked like a bloody eye due to the icing. 

No complaint, no swearing, no stupid saying left Martin's lips. 

Martin was nudged from the other side - his long-time friend Simon Pegg had nudged him and was hugging him from the left side.  
The lips met Martin's temple – it was a smooching wet kiss.  
Simon grinned, sneaked his hand to Martin's plate, trying to grab the cupcake.

"Whoa, fucking brilliant! You've found another cupcake, they are incredibly delicious," he rejoiced before reaching out his hand for the cupcake.

Martin's hand hit his. 

"Get your damn bloody fucking hand off my plate, Pegg," Martin said, while Leila calmly took a strawberry from his plate with impunity.  
"It was worth a try," Simon grinned and pulled his hand back, then waved his plastic axe, which he had with him due to his costume. "Just be careful that I don't chop your hand off today," he grinned broadly.  
"You won't even get a fucking chance to use it if your bloody hand comes near my plate again," he threatened Simon in a grumbling and serious voice.  
Simon grinned unconcernedly, then smiled lovingly and with tender sparkling eyes at Leila.  
"Leila, my sweetest and most beloved darling???," he said very gently, with faithfully puppy eyes. "Wouldn't you like a cupcake..."  
Leila smirked.  
"No. I'm not stealing the cupcake, sweetheart," she grinned. "Martin was glad he found one, because he hasn't eaten one yet," she smiled. "But I can give you a cookie," she winked.

Leila's hand reached to the plate, took a cookie and passed it on to Simon – she wasn’t punished, she wasn’t even told off. 

Simon accepted it joyfully, bit quickly into it before Martin would steal it from him.  
Martin looked at Simon as he ate the cookie.

"Be happy that she loves you so much and that I can live without the cookie," Martin had to smile a little. "You know perfectly well that your bloody paws have no place on my plate."  
Simon grinned.  
"Yes, yes. I know that. Only Leila is allowed to do that," Simon grinned. "You and your Leila," he winked. "It's great that you're back together. I'm so fucking happy for you," he beamed with sparkling and joyful eyes. 

Simon wrapped his arm around Martin’s shoulder again, the cookie was still in his hand – and again he pressed a snogging wet kiss on Martin's temple.  
"It's good to see you purely and truly happy and relaxed, on top of the world and lovestruck. I don’t want to see you in any other way ever again." He winked at him with a soft smile - waving the cookie gratefully to Leila. "Thanks for stealing it," he smiled. "I'll leave the Ghostbuster alone with his beloved Red Queen."  
He smiled at them, then disappeared in the crowd with the cookie in his hand. 

Martin and Leila watched him until he suddenly disappeared into the crowd.

Martin raised his free hand, rubbed over his wet temple and then held the plate closer to Leila, smiling at her, offering her everything on the plate.


	24. Abdominal Pain

_**\- Friday, October/31 - 1980, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent -** _

**Flashback**

It was quiet and silent in the bedroom of the 9-year-old boy, who was not lying in bed well-behaved, but slipped into his slippers.  
The blond hair looked a bit wild, stood off in some directions; the blue eyes looked around in his dark room, looking for the dark blue dressing gown; he was dressed up in light blue pyjamas, the top of which was buttoned up; the feet were stuck in dark and warm slippers.  
He had actually been sent to bed half an hour ago, and he was supposed to sleep now, after he had been allowed to hang out with his friends for a long time. 

It had been an exception - after all, today was Halloween. 

He and his friends had been wandering the streets nearby, ringing at every doorbell, while their arms had needed to carry more and more, as they had received quite a lot of sweets on their tour.  
He had walked through the neighbourhood with Leila, Paul and Teresa - and it had been great fun, especially because tonight was the first time they had been on their own.  
They had needed to carry half a candy store back home through the neighbourhood - but he wouldn't complain about that at all, not even for a second, because he loved candy and sweets and would be able to live only on candy and sweets for the rest of his life; unfortunately neither his mother nor his father allowed him to do so.  
Teresa had disguised herself as a witch princess - she hadn’t been able to make up her mind, and in the end had simply mixed both costumes.  
Paul had walked the neighbourhood as Captain America because he loved Marvel.  
Leila had chosen Pippi Longstocking - it fit very well.  
And Martin himself had gone as the Hobbit - his father had given him the book as a present, had even read it to him, even though he could read well himself; his mother had sewn him the Hobbit costume after he had asked her to, not knowing that in 33 years he would be seen as Bilbo Baggins on the cinema screens of the world.

The evening with his friends had been great, and he was far away from being sleepy. 

He grabbed his robe, slipped into it.  
He tiptoed to his room door, pressed his ear against it, listened - he heard nothing.  
Quietly and slowly, he opened the door, held his breath, pressed himself gently through the gap in the door.  
Quietly and slowly, he closed the door, bit on his lower lip while he concentrated.  
On tiptoes, he crept through the hallway like a cat, his ears pointed like a lynx.  
On tiptoes, he crept down the stairs light-footedly like a cat - very cleverly leaving out the eighth step, because it creaked.

Silently, he sucked in the air.  
He was still hearing the radio in the living room - his mother and stepfather James were certainly still awake, even if it was just before midnight.  
The door to the living room was open, as always.  
Slowly, the 9-year-old crept to the door but stopped behind the door frame.  
His head stretched out a little - he already had an excuse on his lips in case they caught him right now.  
Neither his mother nor his stepfather looked towards the open door. 

Martin took his chance, sneaked past the open door like a skilled cat.  
His fingers reached very slowly but silently into the top drawer of the commode that was standing right next to the front door - somehow he had to come back in later.  
His eyes grinned as he quietly closed the drawer with one hand, joy rushed through his body – so far his sneaking plan was successful.  
The key slipped out of his fingers - the eyes became huge, the grin disappeared, the heart leapt into his throat; if he would get caught now, his excuse wouldn’t save him.  
His hand reached for the falling key; he even had to squat down, but before the key could hit the floor clinking and jingling, his hand grabbed the key - it still clanked.  
Martin squeezed his eyes together, praying that the music in the living room had suppressed the jingling. He pulled his shoulders up, his heart still leaping into his throat - if he would get caught right now, a miserably long lecture would be waiting for him, along with being grounded. He was always allowed to go to Leila's place, and he was allowed to stay over any time, there was just rarely and at obvious occasions a ‘No’, but sneaking out in the middle of the night without asking was not allowed.  
No other sound than music left the living room - he was just lucky.  
Quietly, he opened the front door; he sneaked out and closed the door silently. 

Wearing a dressing gown, pyjamas and slippers, he crept through the front garden, across the street, through the Chaplin family's front garden and to the closed garden gate.  
He climbed over it, was nimble and agile.  
Wearing a dressing gown, pyjamas and slippers, he crept through the garden to the tree house.

He walked up the stairs, opened the door - from the outside he hadn’t seen any light, but inside he saw the diffuse light of a small flashlight.

Leila waved at him, grinning.  
"You've made me wait."  
Martin closed the door, grinned at her.  
"I almost dropped the key, it took a bit of time," he said as he walked to Leila who was sitting on the sofa, also wearing a dressing gown, pyjamas and slippers.

Leila smiled at him, made a little more room on the couch - her red hair was in a loose bun; she was wearing grey trousers and a white top, over it a dark green dressing gown; the slippers were dark green, too.  
"Thank goodness they haven’t caught you."  
"Well, I would have needed to sneak out of the house every day next week."  
He grinned cheekily, came closer and sat down - it wouldn't be the first time he’d disobey the curfew secretly; so far he had only been caught once. 

Leila pulled one of the cotton blankets from the backrest, put it around her - she grinned broadly and euphorically.  
"But it's easier without house arrest."  
Martin grinned.  
"That's true, but even with house arrest, it's not impossible to spend time with you."  
Leila grinned, grabbed a bag from the ground, lifted it up and emptied it between them.

Smarties, chocolate bars, KitKat, milk chocolate, wrapped chocolates, pralines, lollipops, crisps, boiled sweets, liquorice, gummy bears, cookies, peppermint chocolate, waffles, chocolate coins, Mars - and much more.

The two 9-year-olds licked their lips - they had been appointed to eat sweets. 

"We’ll share the stuff I have at home, too," Martin smiled to Leila as he took a peppermint chocolate bar.  
"Tomorrow night," Leila grinned and took a small pack of Smarties. 

They both laughed, nodded in agreement, nodded in accordance. 

Martin opened the wrapper of the chocolate bar, then took a bite – his eyes shining with relish.  
Only the small weak light of the flashlight gave them some light.  
Leila put some Smarties in her mouth, chewed them.  
She preferred to just turn on the flashlight, didn't want the light in the tree house to be seen, after all she was supposed to lie in her bed and sleep instead of sitting here in the tree house with her best friend eating sweets. 

"Is that one tasty?" She asked her best friend.  
Martin smiled at her, stretched out his arm and hand so she would be able to bite into the chocolate bar.  
"See for yourself. I like it a lot."  
Leila smiled at him, opened her mouth, bent forward a little bit more and bit into Martin's chocolate bar. She immediately nodded in agreement, chewed the peppermint chocolate in her mouth with relish - let the chocolate around the peppermint filling melt before she chewed it.  
Martin pulled his arm back.  
"Mr. Evans threw quite a lot into the bags," Martin grinned and then bit into his chocolate bar again.  
"Mrs. Johnson too."  
"And we even got some from the old curmudgeon."  
"Probably just because we were the first ones to ring the doorbell," Leila grinned as she ate the Smarties.  
Martin nodded with a grin.  
"Probably."

Leila let her fingers circle over the sweets, took a candy bar.  
"Totally stupid that Tracy and Heather didn't dress up," she said, mentioning two girls who were in the same form at their school.  
"Yes, but it was already strange that they were out and about at all," Martin nodded and opened a small bag of salty crisps.  
"Tracy thinks you're pretty cute," Leila smirked. "She looked at me toffee nosed and jealous – like always. I’m sure she thinks I don't deserve to be your best friend. The way she keeps looking at me, I'm sure she thinks she should be your best friend and not me."  
Martin raised one eyebrow while almost inhaling the crisps - but Leila had also inhaled the candy bar while talking and now opened the second one.  
"She thinks I'm cute?", he asked. "I don't think she’s cute. Not at all. She's extremely annoying, always pretending to be better than anyone else, strutting around the school and the city like she's Miss Universe… and she has no hobbies - except strutting, being annoying and toffee nosed. And Heather is just as stupid and toffee nosed as Tracy. Neither of them is cute nor pretty. They look more like... creepy dolls." He had to grin when he heard Leila’s laugh. "Besides, she doesn't like you. That makes her so unlikable that she'll never be a friend of mine."  
Leila smiled - she didn't like Tracy and Heather either, especially because they always acted like they were better than anyone else; they were always joining in everywhere and were able to lie like a trooper to get what they want; and they were immensely spoiled by their parents. Not that she was jealous of Tracy and Heather, but the bragging just got on her nerves.  
She made a kissing mouth.  
"I bet she'd love to snog you."  
The 9-year-old shivered in disgust, closed his eyes.  
"Bah!"  
Leila laughed heartily. 

Martin opened the box of chocolates, took a chocolate, put it in his mouth, chewed on it.  
His expression changed.  
Joy for chocolate became disgust.

He frantically searched for the chocolate bar paper, grabbed it when he found it and spat the chocolate into it.  
"Yuck!"  
He shivered in disgust.  
Leila raised an eyebrow, smiled and looked questioningly.  
"What did the chocolate taste like?"  
"Apricot." Martin shivered again. "Disgusting."  
Leila grinned, knowing that Martin didn't like apricots at all - neither as a filling nor as a fruit. 

Martin grabbed the next chocolate, looked at it, gnawed off some of the chocolate, smelled at the filling, even though it already looked like vanilla.  
Leila watched him with a big grin while she licked a lollipop. 

They sat together on the sofa, chatting and helping themselves with the sweets - they gorged their stomachs with the sweets and candy, not paying attention to the fact that more and more sweets disappeared.  
They didn't take a break, they even talked with their mouths full of chocolate, crisps, waffles and other sweets - it was a constant eating, nibbling, munching.

Packaging and wrappers were lying on the sofa, on the small table in front of the sofa, on the floor. 

Martin rubbed his stomach.  
"My stomach hurts," he said in an uncomfortable young voice. "And I feel sick."  
Leila cuddled with the cotton blanket, didn't look too good either - had turned a little pale.  
"I feel pretty sick myself. And my stomach hurts too," she murmured.  
It was no wonder since they had eaten almost all the sweets - there were only the boiled sweets and the lollipops, except for two.  
It was more of a miracle that neither of them had vomited yet.

Martin rubbed his stomach again - he looked pretty pale, too.  
"I'm going back home, Ginge," he murmured. "I want to lie down. I don't feel well at all."  
Leila nodded, pushing the cotton blanket aside.  
"I'm going to bed too - maybe we’ll feel better then," she said in a sickly voice - she was feeling incredibly sick.

They slowly got up, trudged through the tree house, trudged down the wooden spiral staircase and through the garden.  
But despite the fact that they were feeling very sick and despite the fact that their stomach-ache was quite bad, they gave each other a hug and a 'good night' before Martin left for his house.

Martin trudged over the garden fence, walked across the street with stomach cramps, not even paying attention to enter the house quietly.  
His face was even paler than before.  
The house was quiet, he was probably the only one who was still awake.  
He only wanted to go to bed, but he had to make his way to the downstairs bathroom before he could even go up the stairs.

He wasn't the only one who vomited into a toilet a few seconds later, holding his stomach, sweating, rubbing his cramping stomach. 

The way to their bed had been harder than expected because the stomach pains had continued even after vomiting. 

The next morning Martin managed to avoid breakfast. He had managed to talk his way out of it, thank goodness his mother hadn’t forced him to eat anything – he had been allowed to have just a cup of tea; and the luck had been on his side after breakfast again, because his mother and Leila's parents had allowed him to spend the day with Leila.

They had met again in the tree house.  
They had fallen onto the thick and cosy mattress in the cockpit.  
They had spent the day in the cosy cockpit - with stomach-ache, resting, talking quietly, relaxing and sleeping, overcoming the abdominal pain.

And this one Halloween night followed by hours of painful stomach-aches should still be their shared secret after many decades.


	25. Hangover

_**\- Friday, November/01 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's house -** _

It was already four o'clock in the morning - half an hour ago, Leila and Martin had arrived in Hampstead.  
And since they had arrived half an hour ago, Leila was busy getting undressed and removing her make-up. 

Martin was sitting in the en-suite bathroom - they wanted to take a shower, but since Martin didn't want to shower alone, he had sat down on the floor; he leaned against the bathtub, had tucked up his legs, had put his arms on his knees; his head lay on the edge of the bathtub, respectively his neck and the back of his head.  
His eyes were closed; he had already taken off his overall and the long T-shirt he had worn underneath - he was just sitting with a pair of black tight boxer shorts on the floor of the bathroom; the rest of his body was naked.  
He listened to the noises Leila was making in the bathroom, suddenly remembering another Halloween that he and Leila had secretly ended in the tree house.

He kept his eyes closed; in front of them he could see himself and Leila's 9-year-old self, eating sweets.  
They hadn’t only eaten the candy and the sweets, they had gorged and munched them.  
He could see his own 9-year-old self in front of his eyes, curled up in bed with a bad stomach pain, hardly able to fall asleep; he saw himself sitting at the breakfast table smiling bravely even though he was still suffering from stomach ache; he saw himself and Leila in the tree house, just lying in the cockpit and resting - not even their thoughts had drifted to sweets anymore; they had just been lying in the cockpit, cuddling with the blanket, resting, slowly feeling better and vowing to never eat so many sweets all at once ever again.

He had the feeling that in a few hours they would be lying on the couch similarly suffering - but not writhing with stomach aches due to too much candy, but completely exhausted and suffering due to too much alcohol. 

His head signalled him very clearly that he had overdone it - this didn't happen often, as he usually stopped when he felt slightly drunk, at the latest when he was drunk; but tonight, he had clearly partied hard.  
Right now, he was not slightly drunk, not drunk either - at the moment he was in a state of ultimate drunkenness.

He lifted his head slightly, opened his eyes slowly, looked up with glassy and tired eyes, looked sleepily and drunkenly to Leila, who was just about to remove the hair clips from her hair.  
There she was, standing in front of the mirror with her black slip and black bra.  
He licked his lips.

Slowly he stood up, toddled to her, stopped behind her, kissed her naked right shoulder.  
He put his hands on her hips, let his hands wander to her belly and up to her breasts; he grabbed her bosoms tenderly but also a bit uncoordinated - he heard her purr, felt her snuggle up to him.  
His lips kissed along her shoulder up to her neck, he sucked on it, massaged her breasts in her bra.  
He wanted to enjoy a quickie right in front of the mirror, but it was just too exhausting in this state of drunkenness.

Leila closed her eyes, snuggled up even closer, raised one arm, put her hand on the back of his head, her fingers played uncoordinated in his hair.  
She felt the warmth in her body, felt the tingling in her tummy, felt lust and arousal and the desire to enjoy a quickie with Martin just here in front of the mirror, but just the thought of it was too exhausting.  
She had definitely partied too hard, but the Halloween party at Jonathan Ross' place had been just incredibly amazing and too much fun.  
In a few hours, they would definitely regret the huge fun even more. 

She snuggled up to Martin, moaned when he bit her earlobe, got goose bumps when she heard the warm nasal but also rough and drunken voice murmuring erotically and seductively.  
"I would love to enjoy your warm body right here and right now during a passionate quickie, but... "  
"...even the thought of it is hard work...", Leila murmured in a voice that was also drunk but warm.  
"Hmm, exactly", Martin muttered in her ear, his hands stroking from her breasts to her belly, his fingers were crawling the naked skin in an uncoordinated way.  
"Let's take a shower, baby," Leila breathed tiredly. "Let's do the quickie in front the mirror later… when we're feeling better."  
"Well,… tonight then, when we get ready for bed again," Martin whispered.  
Leila shivered pleasantly, turning around slowly as she couldn't feel the crawling on her belly anymore. 

They smiled at each other tired and drunk, trudged to the shower - Martin turned on the water with an uncoordinated movement and after several attempts.

Cold water rushed out of the shower at first, but the cold water only hit the stone floor - Martin took off the black tight shorts.  
Lukewarm water rushed out of the shower, but the lukewarm water only hit the light-coloured stone floor - Leila took off her bra and slipped out of her slip.  
Warm water rushed out of the shower, mainly hitting Leila’s and Martin's body.

The red curls slowly loosened under the warm water, it made the red soft and full hair look almost smooth again.  
The grey hair looked darker because of the warm water.

Their eyes were closed, they put their arms around each other, held on to each other, enjoyed the warmth of the water, enjoyed the freshening feeling - most of the time you felt a little better afterwards. 

Leila snuggled up to Martin.  
Martin snuggled up to Leila.

The water rushed down on them but couldn't wash the drunkenness off them. 

They just stood motionless under the rushing water, cuddling, holding on tightly to each other to have more security while standing.

Martin put his cheek on Leila's shoulder, nestled his face in the crook of her neck, cuddled her intensely, even more intensely than usual, and it just showed Leila quite clearly that he was overtired - this even more intensive cuddling told her exactly that.  
It was a clear indication - because whenever Martin was overtired he started to cuddle even more intensely than usual.

"Hey... pumpkin..." Leila breathed. "Don't fall asleep," she muttered as the male naked body felt heavier against hers. 

Martin startled, in fact he had almost fell asleep while standing and cuddling with the love of his youth - he urgently needed to get to bed.  
Clumsily, he ended the hug and the cuddling; clumsily, he opened his eyes, looked at her overtired.  
He clumsily raised his left hand, stroked Leila's wet hair, then took her face in both hands and breathed an uncoordinated and rather gruff kiss on her lips - the alcohol level had made the actually tender kiss a little more coarse in an uncoordinated way. 

"Oooopsss," Martin muttered and caressed her lips with his thumb in a controlled and very delicate way.

Leila smiled tiredly, raised her hand, stroked through Martin's grey hair - she had liked the somewhat rough and gruff kiss.  
She caressed his neck, caressed across his back and his bottom, caressed the naked wet skin.

"Let's go to bed," she muttered, tired and exhausted.

The water was turned off.  
They stepped out of the shower, rubbed themselves dry – roughly.  
And after two silent minutes, Leila, naked but wearing Martin's bathrobe and the hood, toddled next to Martin out of the en-suite bathroom and to Martin’s bed.  
Martin rubbed his eyes over and over again, yawned over and over again – he had only wrapped a towel around his hips, but it slid to the floor before he reached the bed.

They crawled into bed, crawled under the blanket.

Immediately Martin slipped into Leila's arms, naked - he snuggled up against her naked body as she hadn’t closed the bathrobe.  
He snuggled his face into the crook of her neck, he could feel the fluffy bathrobe due to the hood she was wearing.  
He wrapped an arm and a leg around her body, closed his eyes, breathed in her scent, felt the wildly spinning bed.  
Martin sighed, took a deep breath, enjoyed the rather uncoordinated caressing on his naked back – he snuggled up even more; he couldn’t slip any closer anymore.

He still felt the goose bumps, but before he could give her a good night kiss in the crook of her neck wishing her a good night, he fell asleep and was snoring softly. 

Several hours later, Martin and Leila heaved themselves out of bed again.  
The clock on the bedside table already showed 12 o'clock, but they still felt incredibly tired. 

Martin trudged through the room as naked as he was, trudged into his dressing room, rubbing his aching head, rubbing his tired eyes.  
He grabbed a fresh pair of shorts, slipped slowly into them, yawned heartily and ran his hand through the grey tousled hair.  
He slipped into a comfortable Snoopy sweater, sweatpants and socks. 

"Fuck!" Martin’s mouth escaped a scared swearing word as he turned around.

He was looking at Leila, who was suddenly standing nakedly in his dressing room – an apologetically look on her face.  
He walked towards her, took her face in both hands, breathed a very tender kiss on her lips.

Leila was still naked, had just managed to get out of bed.  
She grabbed into his tousled grey hair, breathed a tender kiss on his lips as well.  
She felt extremely tired; she had headaches, she felt sick, her body signalled her very clearly that she had definitely too much alcohol.  
And when she leaned back a little bit after the two shared kisses, she could see that Martin felt exactly the same. 

She caressed through the grey tousled hair.  
She smiled tiredly, loved it when his grey hair wasn’t styled – even so he looked extremely dapper and handsome with his hair styled, too.  
"I wanted to help myself - I forgot to bring some Hangover clothes," she murmured and caressed gently through Martin's hair again.  
Martin smiled, let his nose cuddle with hers and enjoyed her gentle caresses in his hair.  
"Make yourself comfortable – whatever you need for that, honey" he whispered. "I'm in the bathroom and then downstairs. Do you want to eat something?"  
"No. I don’t even want to think about it," Leila replied.  
"Tea?"  
"Yes. A proper cup of tea would be lovely."  
He smiled, breathed a tender kiss on her lips.  
"Okay, I'll see you soon," he murmured and then kissed her lips once again. "Love you, honey."  
"I love you too, baby," Leila whispered against his lips.  
She ruffled through his hair one last time.

It took them almost 15 minutes to meet up in the living room.  
Martin had just sat down.  
Tea was standing on the coffee table - he absolutely wasn’t in the mood for food, too. 

He looked at Leila, who entered the living room and was also wearing a Snoopy sweater and one of his sweatpants.  
She came to him, sunk onto the couch.

"I feel like someone run me over," she murmured, accepted the cup of tea and snuggled up into Martin’s arm. "That was too much alcohol last night."  
Martin held his cup of tea in one hand, hugged her tighter with the other arm – he cuddled her closer, and let her cuddle even more with him.  
“Obviously. The evening and the night were fun anyway. But now I regret a few bottles of beer, a few glasses of wine and a few glasses of Gin Tonic," he murmured whisperingly. "Did you see the headache pill I put on the washbasin?"  
"I've seen it," she muttered in a whisper. "Thanks, you're such a sweetheart."

She nestled her head against his collarbone, sipped at the hot tea.  
Martin's warm body was very pleasant.  
She closed her eyes, made herself comfortable with him, sighed.

"Can you remember that one year when we met secretly in the tree house to eat more sweets than we were allowed?" She asked.  
"Yeah, I was thinking about it in the bathroom a few hours ago."  
"You can take from that story that we got older - back then we were feeling absolutely miserable all day long because of all the sweets; today we will feel absolutely miserable all day long because of all the alcohol."  
Martin had to laugh.  
"Yes, I thought so too. I don't know what I prefer. The stomach pains back then were as unpleasant and bad as this hangover."  
"Hmm, that's right. It’s both very unpleasant. Let's agree on never drinking that much ever again."  
"Yeah, let's never do this again as well as munching a whole bag of candy and sweets at night."

Leila smiled, snuggled up even closer, sipped at her tea again - she kept her eyes closed, felt a kiss in her hair.  
She purred.

"Oh Martin... ", she sighed in a whisper.  
"Hmh?", Martin asked after swallowing down the tea.  
"Nothing,… it's just incredibly lovely to be with you," she whispered.  
Martin smiled, put his cheek back on her head, hugged her even more as he stretched out his legs comfortably.  
"It’s just gobsmacking beautiful to be with you too, Leila. I can’t put into words how incredibly happy I am," he whispered. "You make me deeply and truly happy."

The headache thundered through his head; the feeling of being very sick rushed through his body.  
But even the amorously tingling tickled through his body, the butterflies in his belly were dancing enamoured and his heart was beating fast and excited. 

He sank into the sofa, let Leila cuddle and snuggle with him, enjoyed her closeness and loved it a lot to see her in his clothes.  
He turned his head a little bit, pressed a soft and gentle kiss into her still slightly wavy hair - he buried his nose in it, loved the smell of her hair. 

"Hopefully, we'll recover before bedtime," Leila muttered with pleasure - she almost crawled into him.  
"Why?", Martin muttered into her red hair.  
"Because you promised me a passionate quickie in the bathroom right in front of the mirror if we feel better tonight - and I'd really like to enjoy that passionate quickie," Leila murmured. "Or have you already forgotten about that, baby?"  
"I haven't forgotten about it. I think about sex as soon as I lay my eyes on you."

Leila laughed softly, turned her head a little and bit cheekily into his neck.

"That's such a fucking big lie," she grinned at his neck. "I'm sure you’re thinking much more about cuddling, snuggling, kissing, caressing and fondling me as soon as you lay your eyes on me, you adorable dork."  
"That's the real truth," he grinned and breathed a kiss into her hair, "I don't just think about sex when I see you - but I can't get enough of it right now, so I haven't forgotten about the quickie yet.”  
“Since we enjoyed our love comeback, it's extremely hard to keep my hands off you, too. Right now, I can only keep them off your handsome body because I feel rather sick and miserable."  
"That’s the only reason why you are not lying on this sofa – naked, moaning and groaning, purring and sighing, begging and pleading," he whispered flirtatiously into her hair.

They both grinned, put the tea down on the coffee table, then looked at each other.

Leila swung herself onto his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, cuddled and snuggled up to him as if she were a little girl who just wanted to fall asleep on her daddy's lap.  
Martin gently put his arms around her, hugged her tightly and tenderly, breathed a kiss on her cheek. His hands caressed her back lovingly, then he held her protectively and securely, giving her love and security.

Leila had no intention of leaving this protective and safe hug that showed so much love and security – she would just stay in his arms all day long.  
Martin also didn’t intend to move much today and to withdraw this love and security from her in the form of this loving hug.

They would cuddle off their hangover on the couch.


	26. For the Romantic Ladykiller

_**\- Saturday, November/09 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's house -** _

Sitting on the fluffy carpet, Leila smiled at Joe and Gracie, who were also kneeling on the fluffy carpet.  
On the large coffee table in front of them was a puzzle that was not yet finished but would show an Italian landscape one day.  
They had just started it today, but some pieces had already found their place.

"How about taking a break from puzzling," Leila suggested, as they were sitting on the fluffy carpet in the living room since the afternoon - previously they had been in Hampstead Heath; right after lunch for a little walk. "We could start cooking. I'm sure Dad would like that too - then he'll come home, and something delicious is waiting for him."

Joe looked up while Gracie put another piece to its rightful place.  
They were spending the weekend at their dad’s place, like most weekends when he was in London.  
His dad had needed to go to an appointment right before lunch, but he hadn't left them behind all alone since Leila had come over right after work last night.  
Spending time with Leila was great, he always enjoyed it, whether it was just a short trip, a whole day or a whole weekend - and now that she was his stepmom he enjoyed it even more.  
Leila was just perfect for his dad, and he had to agree more and more with his sister: his dad and Leila were just incredibly cute, amazingly sweet and gobsmacking adorable. 

"Yeah, that's a great idea. He’ll definitely be happy about it. After the long day he'll probably be hungry when he gets home," Joe nodded. 

Gracie looked up, smiled at Leila, nodded in agreement.  
She was very happy that Leila was spending the weekend with them again, that they could spend time not only with their daddy but also with Leila, and together as a couple they were just as sweet as sugar.  
She loved to witness Leila and her daddy as a couple, loved to watch them and to see how truly and purely happy and relaxed her daddy was right now - he seemed absolutely happy, she had never witnessed him this happy before; neither this happy nor this pleased, nor this relaxed and easy going, nor this balanced.  
Leila did him very well; you could see it a mile off that they were simply meant for each other - if one couldn't see that they were meant for each other and were an absolute perfect match, one couldn't even have a tiny little brain cell; in her opinion.

"Oh, yeah! But something really tasty that will make him even more happy."

Leila smiled to the two of them - loved to spend time with them, had always loved to look after them.  
She loved the two of them very much - and you definitely could see Martin in them, not only in their appearance but also in their personality.  
With them she was able to laugh, to have fun and to enjoy time in many different ways.  
She loved these weekends with Martin and his kids, had already enjoyed this weekend in Aldershot with the three of them.  
It was great to witness Martin with Joe and Gracie, whether he was cuddling and kissing, playing and fooling around, being the gentle and protective daddy, the silly and cheeky friend, the compassionate and caring daddy, or the daddy who had to hit the table and to be loud, who cursed and scolded, lectured and gave them a right royal dressing down.  
She could watch him being daddy all day long - and she wouldn't be bored for a second.

"We could make salad, vegetable lasagna and tiramisu," she said. "And then we spoil Daddy for the rest of the evening," she smiled.  
"Yes! The salad with lots of tuna, olives, red cabbage and feta cheese," Joe nodded and described the salad the way his dad liked it.  
"And extra cheese," Gracie added an extra ingredient for the lasagna that her daddy would love a lot.  
"And cinnamon in the tiramisu," Leila smiled and winked. "And for you two, we're making the cocoa version, since you don't like it with coffee."

The four blue eyes of the children were shining and beaming.

Joe and Gracie jumped up.  
"Let's get started, Leila," Gracie rejoiced.  
"We'll need some wine, too. Papa likes wine with a dinner like this," Joe said enthusiastically.  
Leila stood up, smiled with them and nodded in agreement.

Together they went into the spacious kitchen, washed their hands one by one and then looked for the ingredients in the cupboards.

"Did you ever cook for Daddy before? When you have been a couple?" Gracie asked as she searched for the ingredients.  
"To tell you the truth, I didn't. But I did bake him something every now and then," Leila smiled. "But Daddy cooked for me from time to time."  
Gracie looked at Leila with bright eyes.  
"Really? When did he first cook something for you?"

Leila smiled, tinkered with the children in the kitchen, looking forward to cooking with them and making Martin a lovely dinner – she loved to spoil him. 

"The first time he cooked for me on our anniversary," she smiled. "The first time he cooked for me on our first anniversary. We'd already seen each other at school the whole day and when we were back home in the afternoon, we took care of our homework," she said. "Well,… only I did my homework, but Daddy prepared everything for our anniversary date," she grinned. "I was at my place, he was at his place - and he managed to cook secretly and bring his menu to the tree house, unseen."

Gracie and Joe grinned and smiled. 

"And what did he cook you?" Joe asked.  
"He made pasta, with salmon, tomatoes and spinach. He also made salad, and waffles for dessert. The wine was red grape juice in those days," she smiled, and her heart raced faster at the memory.  
"That sounds really delicious. It's sweet that he did that," Joe rejoiced.  
"Yes, it was very tasty," Leila nodded. "And I thought it was really sweet and nice of him too."  
"Was it romantic, too? With candles and all?" Joe asked smiling.

He looked at Leila as expectantly and enthusiastically as Gracie - they both looked as if they were rooting and hoping for a romantic and sweet story.

"Well, he had set the table in the tree house really nicely - even with candles. It looked like in a restaurant. He even bought me a bouquet of flowers and dressed up really nicely - his hair was styled, he wore a really nice shirt, and suit trousers. He picked me up at the door and took me out as if we were actually going to a restaurant," she smiled dreamily as she thought back to it. "Oh, and his waffles had been heart-shaped."

Gracie almost looked with heart-shaped eyes at her daddy's girlfriend.

"Awww! He's so cute! I bet you loved all this, didn't you?"  
"I enjoyed that very much. It was really a very nice and sweet surprise and an amazing anniversary date."

Joe looked enthusiastically and proudly to Leila – he was proud of his dad.

"That was pretty romantic. Has he always been this romantic?"  
"He was and is a bit of a hopeless romantic and Ladykiller," Leila winked. "At least with me."

Martin's children beamed with enthusiasm, then got back to the preparations for the dinner, which they prepared devotedly.

Leila smiled to them.  
She had enjoyed the first anniversary date a lot.  
It had been simply amazing and hopelessly romantic.  
She had loved that he had dressed up, that had picked her up, that he had given her time to dress up as well – and a little later she had been standing in front of him in a very nice dress.  
The table in the tree house had looked great - with a white tablecloth, candles and a bouquet of flowers and lovely crockery; he had really made an effort, and even got some sort of heater from his mother, which had kept the main course warm until they had enjoyed it.  
He had been an absolute gentleman and charmer the whole evening, but also just typical Martin with his funny stories, his cheeky comments, his charming smile, his glowing ears and cheeks and rubbing of his neck, because she had complimented him continuously for the evening, the food, the bouquet and his appearance.  
The soft music in the background had also been quite beautiful.

They had been allowed to spend the night in the tree house, even if they had needed to go to school the next day – and during that night they had been quite busy with their naked bodies instead of sleeping peacefully.  
The last school day of the week had been quite exhausting after a night without sleep.  
She smiled, felt her belly tingle and her heart race - caused by the memory.

Leila, Joe and Gracie had been busy preparing the food and had put a lot of effort into it.  
All of them had helped all the time to conjure a really great dinner for Martin and to spoil him with it. 

Together, they had prepared the salad.  
Together, they had prepared the lasagna.  
Together, they had prepared two different Tiramisu desserts.  
Together, they had also set the table. 

They had put a lot of love into every detail and had enjoyed themselves magnificently while preparing and cooking.  
It had been absolutely worth it, and they were sure that Martin would be very happy about it and very thankful for it.

When the front door of the house was opened, Leila, Joe and Gracie came into the entrance area and welcomed Martin with a bright smile.  
Martin stopped behind the door, which fell into the frame by itself with a little push.

"Hello... ", he smiled in surprise as he was greeted by his kids and Leila in the hallway. "Everything okay with you?" He asked - he slipped out of his shoes, put the bag down and opened his jacket, too.  
Gracie happily hopped to him, wrapping her arms around him before he could even take off his jacket - she was really looking forward, just wanted to show him their surprise.  
"Hello, Daddy," not only the hug but also the young female voice greeted him.  
She was standing on her tiptoes  
Martin bent down a bit, hugged her heartily, enjoyed her kiss and pecked her cheek as well.  
"Hey, sunshine," he smiled - totally happy that they all greeted him in the entrance area.  
Joe shooed his sister away, wrapped his arms around his dad, hugged him lovingly, cuddled him for a few moments - he felt his dad's rubbing hands on his back before the left hand gently patted the back of his head.  
"Hey, Dad!", the voice was very happy - because he too was not only happy that Martin was back home, but also happy to present him the surprise in just a few moments. He stood up on tiptoes, breathed a kiss on his dad’s cheek.  
"Hey, sweetheart," Martin breathed fatherly warm and loving, and also gave his son a kiss on the cheek - his eyes beamed at him, as much as he had just beamed at his daughter.

He looked at Joe and Gracie with fatherly loving eyes, you could see the joy of this unexpected greeting, after all, they had only said good-bye shortly before lunch. 

His eyes flitted away from them and to Leila as he saw her coming towards him - the blue eyes no longer shone with a fatherly warmth, they now shone with a strong love and dreamy glow. 

Leila came towards him - she was beaming as much as Martin; deeply in love and dreamy.  
She wrapped her arms around Martin's neck, beamed directly into his eyes, nudged his nose against hers.  
"Hey, baby... " she whispered softly and breathed a kiss on his lips.  
Martin slowly closed his eyes, put his arms around her waist, one hand was on her butt, the other caressed along her spine, over her neck and to the back of her head.  
"Hey, honey... ", his voice purred, and he kissed Leila’s soft lips.  
They captured each other’s lips, kissed each other lovingly and warmly, enjoying a tenderly and heart-melting kiss. 

Martin gently grabbed her butt, buried his other hand in her red hair, his tongue licked longingly over Leila's lower lip; he wanted to seduce her for a French kiss.

Someone cleared his throat.

"Um, Dad, we, your kids, are still standing here watching you two lovebirds. Save the smooching and foreplay for bed," Joe grinned. 

Martin and Leila had to laugh, stopped the beginning French kiss due to their laughter and took a step backwards.  
They looked at Joe and Gracie, still laughing.

"But be quiet this time," Joe grinned broadly. "That you did more than foreplay, smooching and snogging last night was very obvious – you didn’t keep your voices down."

While Leila's eyes only grew big and she stroked the loose strands behind her ear, Martin's cheeks turned bright red and his ears almost glowed even more.  
While Leila had no cheeky words on her lips, the warm nasal voice sounded cheeky despite the shameful redness.

"Headphones work wonders," he grinned. 

Joe and Gracie laughed out loud, and the cheeky advice made Leila laugh out loud too.

Martin grinned and took a deep breath.  
"To distract you two,… what’s that impudently good smell?" He asked and his stomach growled.  
Everyone beamed at him and they all spoke at the same time.  
"Your surprise!"  
Martin tilted his head.

The jacket was hung up and then he was kidnapped into the kitchen.

The warmth of the fireplace had poured from the living room into the kitchen - it was pleasantly warm, comfortably warm.  
He didn’t just feel the warmth from the living room, he also heard soft music - music he recognised immediately; music he loved very much.  
The kitchen looked spotlessly clean, one wouldn’t suspect that someone had cooked in here, but obviously, this was exactly what had happened in here.

On the big round wooden table there were four beautiful and long-stemmed candles, all of them flickering brightly.  
On the round big wooden table, he could see four plates, eight bowls, enough cutlery.  
On the round big wooden table, he saw four wine glasses, but two of them seemed to be filled with coke instead of wine.  
On the round big wooden table, he also saw four filled water glasses, a big wooden bowl with salad, a casserole dish standing on a hot plate, and two smaller baking dishes with tiramisu. 

The big round wooden table had been set up very lovingly.

Martin blinked, walked closer to the table.  
He recognised the green salad with tuna, olives, feta cheese and red cabbage - he could smell the balsamic-honey-mustard dressing.  
He recognised the vegetable lasagne, could smell it clearly - and he could also see very clearly that there was extra cheese on the lasagne.  
He recognised the tiramisu - one with cocoa, one with coffee; and he could smell cinnamon as well.  
Martin blinked, looked at the table with a joyfully beating heart.

He turned his head around, now frowning with radiant eyes.  
"Have I missed or forgotten something? Is today something special?", he asked a bit alarmed and already a bit apologetic.  
Joe shook his head, beamed at him.  
"We just wanted to spoil the romantic Ladykiller a little bit."  
Martin looked irritated.  
"Romantic Ladykiller?"  
Leila grinned, then smiled gently, wanted to say something, but Gracie was faster.  
"Leila told us about your sweet date that you prepared for her for your first anniversary. That was sweet and cute, Daddy! And hopelessly romantic," she beamed. 

Martin bowed his head, smiled - he could still remember it very well; he had not regretted all the work, hadn’t regretted it even so detention had been waiting for him after school the next day. He had been one of the students who had needed to show his homework that day and he hadn’t even started a single one due to all the preparations; well, he probably wouldn’t have done them anyway.  
He could still remember that date – during the night they had been busy with their naked bodies for the entire night; it had been the first time they had enjoyed sex and petting and lots of other things for a whole night.  
He smiled.

"Is that why you did all this for me?" He asked softly.

Leila shook her head.  
"No, we had decided to spoil you even before I told them that lovely story," she smiled.  
Martin beamed at her, at Joe and also at Gracie.  
"Thank you for that lovely surprise - I can't wait to enjoy the deliciously smelling dinner with all of you," the voice rejoiced very naturally, very authentically and honestly.

He opened his arms.

And not even two seconds later he was hugged very heartily and warmly not only by his children but also by Leila.  
That hug felt like security, love, family and home.


	27. Six Little Stories

_**\- Saturday, November/09 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Sighing, Martin let himself fall on the couch to Joe, Gracie and Leila - he felt all warm and sated.  
The food had been incredibly delicious; the salad, as well as the lasagne and the tiramisu.  
And it had tasted even better since his beloved kids and his gobsmacking girlfriend had prepared and cooked that delicious dinner. 

He felt very warm and sated, very comfortable and safe.

He put his left hand on his belly and his right hand on Joe's thigh, who was lolling beside him.

"So, you two rascals," he started and turned his head around, which was lying on the back of the sofa. "How can Leila and I entertain you?"

Gracie looked past her brother.  
"Do you have any photographs of Leila and you? Old photos when you were kids? Some we haven’t seen, yet," she asked with interest.  
"Oh, yes! That's a cool idea! You must have some more photos than the ones on the walls," Joe said convinced.  
Martin looked at Joe and at Gracie, stood up clumsily.  
"I can fulfil that wish of yours," he smiled.  
Gracie and Joe smiled after him; Leila followed his steps with a smile.

Joe, like the others, didn’t took his eyes off Martin.  
"You could have shown us these photographs months and years ago."  
Martin walked to a chest of drawers in the living room, crouched down, rolled his eyes without his son seeing it.  
"How many times are you gonna complain about this?"  
"Until it's no longer fun," Joe grinned.  
"That could take forever," Martin said and pulled out a box containing only childhood photos of him and Leila.  
Joe grinned at him, cheekily sticking out his tongue when his dad walked towards him again.

Martin also stuck out his tongue, heard Gracie and Leila laugh, saw his son grin with amusement. 

"You mustn’t stick your tongue out at children. Where is that going to get me in my upbringing?" Joe asked.  
"It’s already too late anyway. You’re a dead loss." Martin replied. 

He sat down between Joe and Gracie, grinned at his son, who was grinning too. He bent down a bit, kissed his son’s dark blond hair lovingly. 

There was laughter, but they all slid closer to Martin, who now opened the box.

Joe and Gracie were shown photos of their two-year-old father sitting in an orange bucket; photos of a five-year-old Leila and her five-year-old dad sitting in a floating aid on the grass in front of a lake, biting into a sandwich; photos of their three-year-old father running away from a laughing Leila with a laughing face,… and so on, and so on.  
Joe and Gracie were amused by these adorable photos. 

A new photo appeared in her dad's hands.  
In the photo, his dad was standing on a big stone; he was held under his arms by their grandmother; opposite of him was Leila, also standing on the big stone; she was also held under her arms by her mother.  
In the photo, Leila and their dad kissed each other on the lips.

"Aww, that's sweet!" Gracie beamed.  
"How old were you back then?" Joe asked beaming.  
"Oh, Jesus... maybe a year and a half or so," he said, looking at Leila. "Do you remember where that was?"  
Leila looked to him with a smile.  
"This could be in Ambleside,… Claife Heights."  
"Oh yes, it could be Claife Heights." Martin said and looked more closely at the picture.  
"Where's Ambleside?" Joe asked.  
Leila smiled at him.  
"The Lake District," she answered him.  
"Ah, okay," he smiled. "Was this a trip or a vacation?"  
Martin answered him again.  
"Well, if it's Ambleside, then we went there on holiday."

Gracie beamed at the photo of the two young kissing toddlers - one of them was her dad, who was now sitting next to her with grey hair and so much taller.

"It's so sweet that you kissed each other."  
Martin smiled.  
"Well, I think Leila is right. This looks a lot like Claife Heights. I know grandma once told me that we kissed there quite often - but I think only because they kept picking us up and putting us down there over and over again. Right?" He asked Leila. "I can't really remember the whole story."  
Leila smiled at him, glanced softly at him and then glanced softly at Joe and Gracie.  
"Dad's right. According to Grandma and also my parents, we gave each other lots of kisses. They kept picking us up and putting us down on that stone, and since the stone was a little uneven, I guess we kept tipping over towards each other and then gave each other a kiss. I guess we had quite a bit of fun."  
Gracie and Joe smiled, Joe nodded.  
"Looks like a lot of fun. Have you ever been there again?"

Martin shook his head.  
"No, we haven’t been there again."  
Leila looked at him.  
"What a shame, to be honest."  
Gracie smiled.  
"You can go back and re-create that cute picture."  
Joe grinned past his dad to his sister.  
"Then they won't stop making out, Gracie - I don't want to visit Dad in the Lake District every time I want to see him," he exaggerated with a grin.

And he made Leila and Martin laugh really hard.

The photo was put aside, but more pictures from different vacations followed, more photos of them as toddlers, of them as babies, how they bathed, how they just looked sweetly into the camera, how they both looked quite angrily into the camera; photos from different phases of their life - photographs that Joe and Gracie loved quite a lot, that made them laugh and grin, that made them ask questions, that made them smile and dream.

Martin grabbed a new photo out of the box.

"Raspberry ice cream for breakfast," Martin grinned at Leila.  
"And for dessert cannelloni with coconut and lemon cream," Leila grinned.

The photo showed Leila and Martin - standing next to each other, their cheeks touching each other, their arms around each other's shoulders. Leila's red hair was in a loose bun, some strands were waving in the wind, her turquoise eyes were shining, her mouth was smiling a big smile; you could still see parts of her dress. Martin's blond hair waved fluffily through the wind; the azure-blue eyes sparkled happily, the mouth also showed a very big smile and radiance; parts of his dark green polo shirt were visible.  
Not only were the two 10-year-old best friends beaming - the photo also showed the Italian sun shining while the sea glittered behind them. 

Joe looked back and forth between the photo, Leila and his dad.

"Raspberry ice cream for breakfast?" he asked irritated.  
"I want to know more about that," Gracie said. But she pointed to the photo first. "You look just like Joe, Daddy."

Joe tilted his head, actually had the feeling that he was looking at himself, even if a few small details were a bit different, for example the nose was a bit different. 

Martin smiled at Gracie, leaned back - all heads turned towards him.

"That was in Italy. Leila and I went shopping in the morning; we went to a bakery. We bought rolls and bread for breakfast and for the day," he smiled. "And because there was still some money, we bought two cannelloni for us. Grandma had given us too much money so that we would have enough for the buns and the bread. We secretly bought pastries," he grinned. "The nice woman from the bakery then gave us raspberry ice cream that she made herself for free. And then we secretly ate the ice cream and the cannelloni in front of the bakery, enjoying the sun and the sea," he smirked at his children, whose eyes grinned, sparkled and shone. "And NO! There won’t be ice cream for breakfast in the morning for the two of you!"

Gracie looked at him with begging eyes.  
"Please, Daddy! You had ice cream for breakfast too."  
"Yes, secretly, without my parents or Leila's parents ever finding out we had. Besides, I was younger back then."  
Joe grinned at him, gently poked him in the tummy.  
"We're young too. We're not much older than you and Leila in that picture. We might as well just eat the ice cream secretly," he grinned. "Do you prefer that?"  
"But you don't have to do the same mischievous nonsense as Leila and me," Martin argued and he looked at Leila seeking help. "Help me."  
Leila laughed.  
"We shouldn't have told the story or telling it differently. I can't help you there, baby."  
Gracie grinned with her brother, she looked at Martin, tapped him repeatedly on the chest until he turned his head towards her.  
"How much ice cream did you get?"  
"One scoop each."  
"Then we'll get one scoop of ice cream in the morning. You always have ice cream in the house. Always. It's never empty. So, you have no excuse. And if you don't agree, we'll keep bugging you until you curse and swear and go crazy… and desperately agree."

Martin sighed, put the photo aside, rubbed his temple with his index and middle finger - after this story he didn't really stand a chance.  
He felt a kiss on his left cheek and a kiss on his right cheek - and then he heard two euphoric voices.

"Thank you!" Joe and Gracie said at the same time.

"I hope you'll feel sick after it," Martin growled, dissatisfied with the course of this sweet story.  
His children laughed.  
"You don't mean that," they both grinned.  
"You don't seem to know me very well," He growled again and heard his kids laugh again. "Look at the photographs or I'll eat all the ice cream with Leila tonight."

And now Leila was laughing too.

The next pictures were looked at cuddled up with him - not only Gracie cuddled up, his 13-year-old son had cuddled up too; and he even felt Leila's hand in his hair, felt her fingers playing with the strands.  
He enjoyed looking at the old photos with all of them, and he was pleased that his children were having so much fun.

Joe laughed as he looked at a picture showing his dad as a five-year-old. He looked at his dad sitting at a small table with a birthday cake on it - a few guests were sitting at the table with him, more children. His dad was not only busy blowing out the candles, but also with covering Leila’s mouth at the same time, who leaned away from his hand.

Joe laughed heartily, Gracie also laughed heartily at the photo; Leila just grinned broadly and was still playing with the grey strands of the man who looked at the old photo with a broad grin.

"What was going on there?" Joe laughed.

"Leila had to be tamed a little bit," Martin grinned.  
"Did she want to eat your birthday cake before you had blown out the candles?" Joe grinned.  
"No, she wanted to blow out my candles," Martin grinned. "She always wanted to blow out my candles. Grandma always had to light them several times before I finally managed to blow them out by myself."

Joe grinned broadly, glanced at Leila who was playing gently with Martin's strands, now grinning at Joe.

"I'm afraid he's right," she smirked.  
"Why did you do that?" Joe laughed.  
"Because Daddy couldn't blow out candles properly," she grinned. "I just wanted to help him. But the little grumpy boy didn't want any help. But I couldn't help myself because I couldn't stand seeing him struggling with it."

Joe and Gracie grinned and stared at Martin again. 

"I was just a little too dumb to do it," Martin laughed. "I never managed to blow out all the candles at once. And if you get upset because it doesn't work, it's even harder."  
Joe and Gracie laughed; Gracie shrugged her shoulders.  
"It's kind of cute, anyway."  
Joe smirked.  
"And you still grew up... somehow."  
"You realise that you probably won't get much taller than me?" Martin grinned and tousled through Joe’s hair. "Why are you this cheeky today?"  
"I processed all my love for you while preparing the dinner. Besides, it's your own fault - I got it all from you."  
"That can’t be true." Martin commented Joe’s last comment with a big grin.

Leila tousled through Martin's grey hair, laughed.

"In fact, it's quite possible he got all that from you."  
Martin turned his head quickly around, looked at her.  
"You can't just stab me in the back!" Martin said desperately and depressed, but the eyes grinned.

Leila smirked, leaned past Gracie and breathed a kiss on Martin’s lips.

Gracie ducked down, grinned past Martin, grinned to Joe.  
"Good lord, their flirting is quite sick. They really are a hell of two lovebirds."  
Joe nodded with a grin.

More photos followed, which they looked at together while cuddling and snuggling more and more.  
There were photos showing not only Leila and Martin, but also other family members with them.  
There were photos that clearly and without any doubt showed that they had a very deep friendship.  
There were photos that made them all dream.  
They had slipped closer together, were cuddling even more - Joe and Gracie cuddled with Martin, Leila hugged Gracie and was still playing with Martin's hair, who enjoyed all of it massively; the photos, the cuddling, the snuggling, the playing with his hair.

"What happened to you?" Gracie asked at some point, pointing to the photo her dad was showing her; she had cuddled her cheek on Martin's chest - she would never get enough of cuddling with him, and she also liked Leila's loving hug a lot; listening to the stories of the two was the icing on the cake of this evening. 

Leila smiled.

"Oh, we had quite a good time playing together."  
"It's hard to miss that," Gracie grinned at her daddy’s chest as she looked at the photo of two four-year-olds lying and sleeping in a hammock covered in mud and dirt.  
Martin kissed his daughter's head, felt his son's cheek on his collarbone.  
"This was at Grandpa Geoffrey’s place. According to my dad's story it had rained all morning and we turned the whole house upside down. And when the sun came out, we played in the garden."  
"I think you didn’t play in the garden but wallowing in the mud like piglets."

In the photo, the two four-year-olds were lying in the hammock, fast asleep - their feet in rubber boots hanging out of the hammock; the two children were completely dirty with mud and dirt and grass; not only their clothes but also their faces.

"Apparently we did that," Martin grinned. "And we probably have jumped around in the mud."  
"And you smeared the mud all over your face," Gracie grinned.  
"Better than spreading honey on the kitchen cabinets, darling," he grinned and mentioned a little story involving Gracie as the lead actress.  
"That was ages ago, Daddy," Gracie grinned. "And you weren't much better, just look at you," she grinned and pointed at the picture.  
"Just eight years ago – that little story of yours just happened eight years ago," Martin grinned.  
"In eight years, you could have experience this again if you two would make a baby any time soon," she said casually. "Anyway, playing seems to have made you pretty tired. You were quite cute, Daddy. And Leila, you were quite cute too."

Leila and Martin had turned their heads towards each other, looking at each other. 

Martin felt the photo being taken out of his hand and put aside, but he was still looking at Leila.  
A new photo was put in his hand - and then he and Leila heard Gracie's voice again.

"Oh! My! God!", Gracie said. "This is even sweeter and cuter than the other pictures!"

Leila and Martin blinked, turned their heads back in the direction of the photo.

The current photo showed both of them – hugging, wearing T-shirts and shorts, lying in a tent.  
The current photo showed them as a couple - 17 years old, cuddling and snuggling and sleeping; their noses touched each other, their arms were wrapped around each other, and their legs were also intertwined; one hand was beneath Martin's T-shirt, one hand of Martin was beneath Leila's T-shirt. 

Joe smiled at the photo, liked it a lot.

"I have the feeling that you are just as much in love with each other as you were back then – maybe even a little more. The photo is great. Where was that?"

Martin smiled, reminiscing - Leila answered.

"Paul took the photo. We went camping together for a few days at a nearby lake. It was the beginning of the summer holidays. Paul took it while we were asleep. We were 17 years old,... almost 18... " she smiled. "It was a great little trip of several days. The night before, we made a campfire and sat around it for quite a while, telling stories, playing ‘Spin the Bottle’ and having a drink."

Joe raised the head from Martin's collarbone, looked up at Leila.  
"Do you still cuddle like that with each other?"  
Leila smiled down at Joe.  
"We often wake up just like in this picture."  
Joe smiled.  
"I just told you – you are just as madly in love as back then."  
He put his head back on Martin's collarbone, then heard the warm fatherly voice.

"Even a little more... "

A smile appeared on Joe's face.  
A smiled appeared on Gracie's face.  
Leila kissed Martin's hair.  
Martin closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss and his fast beating heart.

And after a few moments Joe took another photo out of the box.

The photo showed Leila and Martin hand in hand beaming into the camera.  
The eyes and the smile clearly showed that they were on cloud nine.  
In the photo, Leila was wearing a dress and Martin a suit.  
The photo showed two 15-year-old teenagers, dressed up and beaming amorously.

"What was that? Were you on a date together?" Gracie asked. 

Martin smiled, kissing her head again.  
"Something like that. It was some kind of a date, too. It was at the Christmas party or Christmas ball at our school. We'd only been together for about three months at this point."  
Gracie smiled, cuddling her cheek even more on her dad's chest.  
"Did you dance a lot with Leila?" She asked.

Leila answered her, because Martin was fatherly breathing kisses into his son's hair, which only made Joe cuddle his cheek even more on his father's collarbone – soon he would be 14 years old, but he still wasn't getting enough of cuddling with his dad; he didn't do it as often as he used to, clinging on him almost all the time, but he still liked and loved it just as much. 

"Daddy danced with me all night long."  
"He's a very good dancer," Gracie said.  
"He absolutely is. And he already was a pretty good dancer back then. He asked charmingly for every dance.”  
"I think I would have fallen in love with Daddy, too," Gracie smiled.

Martin smiled flattered; he gave his daughter another kiss, breathed it into her hair with fatherly love.  
He listened to Leila's voice.  
The situation he was in just made his heart race faster and left him behind all warm and cosy; he felt incredibly safe - cuddling with his children, looking at old photos, enjoying the caressing and playing in his hair, listening to the voices of Gracie, Joe and Leila.

"Would definitely be a good choice," Leila smiled at Gracie. 

Gracie smiled.  
"Did he pick you up at your doorstep, too?"  
"Yes, he rang the bell, picked me up and then he even held the door of the car open for me. My dad drove us to the Christmas party... and picked us up."  
Joe smiled.  
"I'm sure you guys had fun."  
"A lot. I love to dance with your dad..."

Martin spaced out, only listening to the voices of Leila, Gracie and Joe, who complimented him as if he wouldn’t even sit here right now.  
The heartbeat grew higher and higher, as did the comforting warmth in his entire body.

Family comfort was rushing through every vein.


	28. Foreshadowing

_**\- Friday, August/01 - 1980, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Playground at the Council Office Bus Stop -** _

**Flashback**

The 8-year-old Martin shuffled his feet in the dirt, sitting on a swing on the playground, but didn’t swing.  
He looked down at his feet, shuffled his shoes in the sand underneath him.  
He listened to his best friend Paul, who told him all about the new comic, which he had finally got from his parents - he had been talking about it since January, since the new Spiderman comic had been published in January; 'The Spider and the Thief'.

Martin himself rarely read comics, but he listened carefully and attentively to his best friend and was happy for him that after all these months he finally held the new Marvel Comic in his hands.

"The new Avengers Comic will be out in October. Dad and Mum have promised me that they will buy the comic immediately because I did so well in school this year. Actually, the new Thor comic will be out in October too, but they said I had to choose one. I'll put the Thor comic on my Christmas list, along with the Marvel Team-Up comic, which comes out in December - and then I'll have something to read for the Christmas holidays," the blond boy babbled, who had turned 9 in May and was taller than Martin. "The Marvel Team-Up Comic will also feature Black Panther; you like him, don’t you?"

Martin raised his head, looked at Paul with a smile, who beamed at him with his light blue eyes, enthusiasm sparkled in them.

"I haven't read as much of it as you have. But yeah, I think he’s quite smashing," Martin smiled in a young voice; he didn’t have any comics himself, just read them at Paul's place, or flipped through the huge Marvel comic collection - and of course he knew a lot about it, because Paul talked about Marvel quite often and a lot. "And Doctor Strange is smashing, too."

Paul looked at Martin with bright blue eyes, knowing that his best friend was not a big comic fan, because his best friend was rather a pretty big fan of music, books and clothes - but he thought it was pretty kind that Martin listened to him very attentively anyway - and he also liked to listen to Martin when his best friend was talking about music, books or clothes for hours.

"Yeah, they're cool. I think Iron Man is the best," he said unnecessarily, because Martin knew it, after all he had mentioned it quite often. "And Vision," he added, also completely unnecessarily, because he had mentioned that, too, quite often. "And Jarvis is cool, too," Paul added.  
Martin frowned.  
"Who is Jarvis?" He asked irritated.  
"Edwin Jarvis, a butler and soldier - he is the butler of the Stark family. He only appears every now and then."  
"I see." Martin smiled. "Do you want to be a butler?" He now grinned. "You're welcome to serve me," he smirked cheekily.  
Paul grinned.  
"I'd like to be Vision. And a butler for the Stark family would also be quite cool, after all, he was once a soldier and has wicked fighting skills. I won't serve you, doofus.” He grinned. “Leila can serve you; you’re spoiling each other like almost every day, anyway," he smirked, and then looked at his watch. "Oh, I have to go!" He said and jumped off the swing. "Are you going home now too?"

Martin looked up, didn’t jump off the swing.  
"No, I'm waiting for Leila," he said and looked at his watch, which was red and showed Snoopy on the dial. "We're supposed to meet here at 2:00 p.m., it's not that long anymore," he smiled at Paul again. "Have a nice holiday with your family," he waved.  
Paul smiled.  
"And I'm supposed to be home at 2:00 p.m., which means I have to hurry up," he said, stuffing the comic into his backpack. "Have a great holiday next week, too. I'll see you again in three weeks." He also waved.  
Martin nodded smiling.

And then Paul made a quick getaway; was running across the playground - after all, in a few minutes he was supposed to be in the car with his parents and siblings to leave for their holiday.

Martin was still sitting on the swing, now he was rocking back and forth on his own, waiting for his female best friend who was with her best friend Teresa.  
The sun was shining on his red T-shirt, which matched the watch.  
The sun was shining on the dark blue Dolphin shorts of the 80s.  
The sun was shining on his bare legs and white sneakers.  
The sun was shining on his soft and young 8-year-old face.  
And the light summer breeze was caressing his blond hair while rocking on the swing.

He was alone on the playground, rocking in the sun, waiting for Leila.

Barely five minutes later he jumped off the swing with a big smile on his face; he landed in the dirt with one knee, but got up immediately, only wiped the grainy sand off his knee; grabbed his backpack, shouldered it and ran to Leila who was coming towards him on her bicycle.

They met halfway.

Leila stopped, got off her bike, held it with one hand, but gave Martin a warm and joyful hug with one arm – and she was also hugged by him. 

"Hi, Ginge!" Martin said, he was happy to see her - even though they had got up together this morning, because since the summer holidays had started two weeks ago, they took turns camping in her garden and then in his.  
"Hi, Pumpkin!" Leila said, she was also pleased to see him. She stroked the loose strands behind her ear - she had camped in her tent with her best friend for the last two weeks, and that's what they wanted to do for the rest of the holidays, apart from the two weeks' holiday starting next weekend; on her birthday they would fly to Spain, together.

Leila turned the bike around, walked next to Martin to the exit of the playground. 

"Shall we stop by at Joseph's?" she asked.  
"Unfortunately, I've no money," he said sadly.  
"But I have! Dad gave me 10 pence this morning. We can split it," she smiled at him.  
"Thanks, Leila!" Martin smiled at her gratefully. 

He walked beside Leila, who was also wearing 80's Dolphin shorts, with a white top. 

Together they walked off the playground, crossed the street, walked towards a small shop that looked very colourful - the sign above the shop was also colourful, and announced to the customer what he would find inside.

>strong>Joe's Sweet Shop & Chocolate Boulevard

Leila leaned the bicycle against the wall of the house, then entered the shop with Martin – an old bell announced them. 

They were standing in an old sweet shop that was filled with many different treats.  
Behind the wooden counter there was a long shelf with lots of candy storage jars - but they not only contained colourful and delicious boiled sweets, but also liquorice, chocolate, gummi bears and other sweets. 

Joseph, the 62-year-old shopkeeper, smiled to them - the grey hair had been neatly trimmed, a grey beard adorned his cheeks; he was wearing a light blue neat shirt, and grey suit trousers – he looked like he would still live in the 60s.  
The blue eyes sparkled joyfully to Leila and Martin.

"Well, look who's here. My two dearest customers," he rejoiced with a deep but very warm voice. "What can I do for you?" he asked enthusiastically. "Let me guess. For you, Leila, either lemon chocolate drops or peppermint chocolate drops. And for you, Martin, probably my coloured liquorice rolls."

Martin and Leila came to the wooden counter, grinned happily to him, they nodded - he could almost always guess in advance what they were going to buy.  
Leila liked him a lot – he was always very kind and nice, and very often hilariously funny; it was like having a granddad who run a sweet shop.  
Martin liked him a lot – he loved Joe’s style and his manners, thought that he was pretty funny and kind and a charming rascal.  
Martin and Leila beamed happily.

"Could you give us peppermint chocolate drops and liquorice rolls for five pence each, please?” Leila asked politely and shoved ten pence over the counter.  
"Of course!" He smiled and grabbed two different jars from the shelf. "And you two are out and about again. What are you up to?" He asked, filling chocolate drops into the weighing pan of his old scale. 

Martin and Leila watched him, already licking their lips - it smelled most intensively of delicious chocolate in the shop.

"Leila and I are just going home," Martin smiled.  
"Are you still camping?" He asked and filled the chocolate drops into a small paper bag.  
"Yes! We want to camp all summer long - except when we're in Spain," Martin said.  
"And where are you camping today?"  
"At my place - and tomorrow at Leila's place again. Alternating."  
"What's wrong with the tree house, why don't you sleep there?" Joseph asked and weighed the liquorice rolls.

"That's not a tent, Joe," Martin grinned. "That's something else - entirely. We wanted to camp - and you don't camp in a tree house, Joe. Don't you know that?"  
Joseph laughed.  
"When I was 9 years old, I didn't have a tree house or a tent - but I built soapbox cars with my friends," Joe said, filling the rolls into another paper bag. "But my soapbox car didn't look as good as the one you and Leila had this year. I didn't make such a great soapbox car that looked like a biplane."  
Martin beamed proudly to Joe, was not proud of himself, but of Leila.  
"Yeah, that was a great one! But I only helped, it was all Leila's idea, she did almost everything. She wants to build airplanes when she’s all grown up," he said quite proudly.

Joseph pushed the two bags to Martin and Leila, who stood next to Martin and looked flattered at Joseph - flattered because of Martin's proud voice.  
He smiled at the two children and put the 10 pence in his old till. 

With a big smile, Joseph reached under the counter and conjured a bar of Chadbury's caramel chocolate.  
With a big smile, he pushed it over the counter, winking with his warm blue eyes.

"For my two favorite gourmands."

Leila and Martin got big eyes because the bar of chocolate normally cost 10 pence. Their eyes beamed at the chocolate, then beamed to the grey-haired shopkeeper.

"Thanks, Joe!" They said in a bright young voice, in unison. 

Joseph smiled at them.  
"My pleasure! Have a great holiday and fun during camping," he smiled, while Martin packed the chocolate and the two paper bags in his backpack.  
They smiled at him with a nod.

Leila and Martin walked to the door, turned their heads around again, waved.  
"Bye, Joe!" Martin beamed.  
"Goodbye, Joseph," Leila waved with a soft beam on her face.  
And Joe also waved and beamed at them.  
"Goodbye, Leila; goodbye, Martin."  
Martin opened the door for Leila again - the old bell rang again.

They stepped outside, smiling at each other.

Leila took the bicycle off the wall of the house, pushed it next to Martin. 

They walked along Ash Hill Road, chatting enthusiastically about the bar of chocolate they had been given as a present.  
They turned into Shawfield Road at the crossroad, crossed the road and were still chatting enthusiastically about the chocolate bar that Joe had given them.  
They walked past two bus stops, and shortly after they turned into Culverlands Crescent. 

And after a nine-minute walk from Joe's Sweet Shop & Chocolate Boulevard, they reached their destination; the Freeman family home. 

Leila parked her bike in the driveway, then walked straight into the garden with Martin, who went to the terrace and stretched his head into the living room, where his mother and James were sitting on the couch.

"Hi." He said smiling.  
His mother turned her head around and smiled.  
"Oh, there you are.” She smiled. “Are you two already back?"  
Martin nodded.  
"Are you alone?" He asked.  
"Yes. Jamie's at the lake with his friends; Laura's with Alan; and Tim's with his friends, rehearsing."  
"Oh, okay - Leila and I are in the garden."  
"Shall I bring you some lemonade?" She asked smiling.

Martin shook his head, walked into the living room himself.

"You don’t have to. I can do that myself," he said and spread sand and some dirt that had stuck to his shoes on the floor in the living room.  
"How many times do I have to tell you to take off your shoes?!?" She asked with a serious voice.  
"Now it's too late anyway," He said, shrugged his shoulders and walked through the living room with slightly bigger steps.  
"Take off your shoes, Martin!!"  
"I'm already taking big steps, Mum. Calm down," he said and walked with big steps into the kitchen.  
"You'll clean that up later, young man!" She called after him. "And if you ever enter the house with shoes again, you'll only leave the house in socks in future!!" She threatened him.  
Martin came back into the living room, still taking big steps – he was now holding two glasses in his hands.  
"But dirt and sand also get stuck on socks," he said.  
"You better get out into the garden before you’re camping alone today!"

Martin quickly scurried out of the terrace door into the garden.

Philomena shook her head.

"That boy sometimes brings you to the verge of despair and grinds your gear," she said and got up to clean up the mess herself before they would spread it all over the house.  
"I think that's what he thinks about you sometimes too," James smiled calmly.  
"Yes, yes," Philomena said.  
"Once he will have children, he will realise how exhausting it is when children don't play by the rules."  
"I hope he plays by my rules before he will have children on his own."  
James grinned at her.  
"Oh, come on, Mena. Most of the time you're terribly fond of this charming, sweet, naughty boy. You love your little rascal."  
Philomena smiled radiantly.  
“Of course, I am. And of course, I do.”

Leila looked at Martin, already sitting outside the tent.  
She took the glasses and watched Martin take off his backpack.

"Why did you run out so quickly?"  
"I spread sand and dirt in the living room and the kitchen and the hallway," he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "And mum wasn’t too amused about it."  
Leila grinned at him, put the glasses safely in the grass.  
Martin sat cross-legged opposite her, took out the paper bags - he grabbed an empty bowl, that they had used for cookies yesterday and put her drops and his liquorice rolls in it.  
"Thanks again for sharing your money with me."  
"It was my pleasure, Martin."  
The chocolate was left behind in the cool shady backpack.  
"Let's save the chocolate for tonight so we have something to snack on after dinner."

Dinner came quickly - the day had raced like the other summer holiday days they had experienced so far.  
Together they had eaten at Martin's place - with Philomena, James and Jamie; Laura was still at her boyfriend's place, and Tim hadn't come back from his friends and band mates either.  
Dinner had come quickly, and the rest of the evening had also passed quickly.

It had become dark, it had become quiet, but a flashlight was still burning in the tent.

Martin and Leila were sitting cross-legged opposite each other, the Chadbury's Caramel Chocolate lay open between them. 

They enjoyed the little snack Joe had given them, telling each other little stories - one word each, but the next word had to start with the last letter of the last word.

"Martin," Leila grinned and began a new sentence.  
"Nibbles," Martin grinned, glad he'd thought of something right away.  
"Sweetly."  
"Your," Martin grinned.  
"Red," Leila grinned.  
"... Delicious,” Martin said after a few moments.  
“Strawberry!”

Leila grinned to Martin, took a piece of the chocolate while Martin took a piece of the chocolate too.  
They grinned at each other, holding the piece they were holding in their hands to the other one.

Leila let Martin feed her.  
Martin let Leila feed him.

And then they dreamt up a new little story before enjoying another piece of chocolate from Joe's Sweet Shop & Chocolate Boulevard.


	29. Chocolate on the Forehead

_**\- Saturday, November/16 - 2019, London, Camden, Primrose Hill, Wadham Gardens, Benedict’s House -** _

Comfortably, Martin strolled through the street, was on his way to Benedict.   
He had driven from Hampstead to Wadham Gardens, the street where Benedict had just recently bought a house with Sophie and their children - the drive had only taken him ten minutes.   
He hadn't parked directly in front of Ben's house, or rather not on the driveway, because he had driven past it – he hadn’t been attentively enough and hadn’t wanted to turn around.

The gate was open; he entered the property, walked across the driveway to the house, pressed the doorbell.

He didn’t have to wait a minute before Benedict joyfully opened the door.  
With a sweater, jeans and on socks, the tall man stood in front of him, smiled and opened his arms warmly.  
Martin smiled; the short grey hair blew lightly in the wind, the scarf was partly covering the three-day beard. He opened his arms warmly, too.

They hugged each other amicably, rubbing each other across the back.  
Martin squeezed Benedict's shoulder.  
Benedict patted the back of Martin's head.  
Again, they hugged amicably, rubbing their backs again.

"There you are," Benedict rejoiced and stepped aside. He knitted his brow. "Didn't you come by car?"  
Martin went into the house, slipped off his shoes as Benedict closed the door.  
"I did, but I was so distracted that I accidentally missed your house," he smiled and took the scarf off his neck. "Stop grinning like that!" He grinned brightly, too. "It doesn’t matter, I just didn't feel like turning around again, and I need to go into that direction anyway, when I leave for Leila," he said and slipped out of his jacket. 

He followed Benedict into the living room where the fireplace was burning, music was playing, and tea was served by the armchairs at the fireplace - it was wonderfully quiet except for the crackling of the wood in the fireplace.

Just before he had left for Benedict, they had texted via WhatsApp.  
During these messages, Martin hadn’t only found out that Benedict had nothing to do, was alone and wanted to meet him; during these messages Benedict had also found out that Martin was also alone at home and had time for him; the only difference was that Martin was appointed with his best friend Leila in a few hours. 

Together they walked to the armchairs and sat down - and now Martin didn’t only see tea, but a chocolate cake.

"Since when can you bake?" Martin asked; he leaned towards the cake, leaned over the armrest of the armchair and looked at the cake on the plate - he lifted the plate, looked at the piece of cake very closely, inspected it, even smelled it. "Or did you buy it?"

Benedict pulled a face - baking wasn't exactly a talent of him, to put it nicely; in fact, you could hardly eat anything baked by him, even if your taste buds were barely intact.  
He was a pretty good cook, but cakes and tarts, cookies and biscuits shouldn’t be touched if he had baked them.  
He didn't know why he didn't succeed, because he actually always followed the recipes, but nevertheless, pastries of him tasted really horrible, or they were hard like stone, or they were hard like stone and tasted horrible in addition.

"Don't worry, I won't poison you," he had to grin. "Sophie baked it."

Martin tilted his head, immediately grabbed the fork.  
"I thought you were alone," he said, watching Benedict taking his own plate.  
"She made that cake for me yesterday, so I'd have something to nibble on for the weekend. She'll be back tomorrow night with the kids," he smiled.  
"Oh, I thought they were in LA," Martin said and shoved the fork with the juicy cake in his mouth. "Good thing you didn't bake," Martin grinned chewing.  
"They're just visiting family. I was just exhausted from the last few weeks and I didn't feel like any more hustle and bustle," Ben smiled in a deep voice and then grinned. "I wouldn't have offered you a cake that I baked, sweetheart."  
Martin grinned, then turned back to the cake.

Benedict looked over to Martin while he was eating, was happy to see his colleague and friend. He loved to just sit comfortably in front of the fireplace with him - and he was pretty sure that Martin was also very happy with sitting in front of the fireplace and enjoying some chocolate cake, after all his friend and colleague enjoyed the cosiness much more than action and adventure.

"What are your plans for Leila today? Are you going somewhere?"  
"We'll meet at her place and maybe we'll go out for a meal and a drink - but we'll probably just make out, having sex and enjoying ourselves instead of leaving the house since we can’t keep our hands off each other," Martin said as he enjoyed the delicious chocolate cake from Sophie. 

He now grinned to Benedict, who had almost choked on the cake, due to the unexpected news. 

"Excuse me?!" He rattled with cake in his throat, cleared his throat, coughed. "Leila and you? Together again? A couple? Or just best friends who are currently both single and sharing a bed?" He asked curiously, but with a grin.

He cleared his throat again, coughed again.   
And then he pointed his fork at Martin. 

"Were you trying to kill me?!"

Martin laughed.

"No, not really. I just answered your question – honestly.", Martin smiled cheekily.   
"But I didn't expect you to tell me that you and Leila are probably going out for dinner, but that you’ll most likely not go out for dinner since you’re so horny for each other that you’ll have sex the whole evening."  
"Otherwise you wouldn't have had to ask what we were doing if you had known," Martin still grinned cheekily.   
Benedict grinned and rolled his eyes, but then looked at him curiously again.  
"Well, then answer my other questions now!" He ordered him.

Martin was still eating the chocolate cake, now even discovering a bar of chocolate in the corner of his eye - Benedict had thought of everything; a cosy warm fireplace, a cosy spot, cake, chocolate and tea, music.  
A fantastic afternoon.

"Still best friends, but a couple too," the blue eyes and the warm voice beamed.  
"These are bloody great news," Ben beamed. "But you could have told me that you fell in love with the love of your youth all over again!"  
"It was exciting enough without your advice and euphoria," Martin smiled.   
Ben smiled, nodded, he wasn't angry that he only found out about it now, they probably hadn't been a couple for too long.  
"When did the love comeback happen?"

A gentle giggle echoed through the room - Martin hadn't been able to hold it back at the thought of their anniversary.

"September the 17th, ... it's the same anniversary – the 17th of September 1986 and the 17th of September 2019."  
Benedict's eyes were big, his mouth was open.  
"You're kidding me, right?"  
"No, for once I’m not kidding you," Martin grinned.   
Benedict looked at him - in fact, Martin didn't look like he was joking.   
"I guess you can only say that this is more than just a second chance," he smiled. "What is it like to be with her again?"  
"Just as great as back then; it really is just as beautiful and perfect as back then," he beamed. "Our families have almost gone through the roof with joy," he smiled. "And Joe and Gracie were pretty happy, too. We were at Aldershot together and they caught us kissing," he smiled.   
Benedict laughed, bowed his head afterwards, pointed at Martin with the cake fork again.  
"You're lucky they only know it because they caught you. Who else knows it except your family, your children and now me.”

Chocolate cake was swallowed down again, a grin lay on Martin's face again, but it turned into a smile after a short moment.  
"Paul knows,... lots of people who have been at the Jonathan Ross Halloween party, and... Amanda," he said. The fork picked up the last piece of cake. "You can't exactly say she's thrilled about it. I think she's bitchy about it."  
The last piece of chocolate cake disappeared in his mouth – he chewed it.

Benedict looked at his friend and colleague - no wonder did he look all relaxed, light-hearted, purely happy and on top of the world; the little cheeky rascal was head over heels in love and probably sat on the fluffiest cloud nine that could be found.   
He was very happy for Martin; he knew Leila due to Martin, knew old stories, knew how happy the two had actually been back then.   
He was very happy that they had found each other again, that they had fallen in love all over again, that perhaps this time their time had come.  
He wrinkled his forehead.

"Why would Amanda be bitchy about it?" he asked. "She does have a partner, you've been separated for years, and it was Amanda who finally, without any attempt to save the relationship, broke up with you."  
"Let's put it this way - you know she posted weird tweets after the breakup, which all implied that I have been cheating on her. Due to these tweets and other things that weren’t quite okay, our friendship regressed more and more. I mean, we can easily talk with each other, but she has become a friend that you can have a great chat with every now and then, but you don't have to see or go out with. We function as that kind of friends, we function damn well as parents, but we haven't been good or best friends for a long time," he says and saw Benedict nod. "I only found out about the tweets due to Jamie, but she has been doing that stuff ever since. It's not okay and childish and sometimes disrespectful, but I don't want to get upset and mad about it again. Well, last week when I went to Potters Bar to pick up the kids from school on Friday, I had to go back to her place because Joe forgot his bag. We talked for a while and somehow we came across Leila - of course, Joe and Gracie told her all about our love comeback. Amanda seemed quite pissed off and in a roundabout way she said that I might have been cheating with Leila during our relationship. I mean, she knows Leila and I were a couple, and on top of that, Leila and I have a very close and intimate friendship.  
"Yeah, the stuff she’s tweeting, and you passed on to me was somehow disrespectful – as well as some stuff she said privately lately; it’s,… well she’s different since the separation. But I wouldn't have thought that she'd be pissed off - it wasn't a problem all these years, Leila was not only very close to you but also to Joe and Gracie and Amanda," Ben said. "You never cheated on Amanda with Leila, did you?"

Martin looked at him in astonishment.  
"What fucking kind of question is that!?!", he exclaimed. "Of course, I haven’t! There was nothing but harmless friendship," he said. "Why do you ask me that, for fucks sake? You know my opinion about cheating - you know I even think that a kiss is cheating! And I'm sure you also remember how grumpily I told you off when you told me that you cheated on Olivia just before the breakup – one-night stand or not doesn’t matter. That was your thing, but you know how angry it made me. I would never cheat on someone, no romantic cuddle, no kiss, no sex."  
Benedict rubbed his neck.  
"Sorry... " he said, rubbing his neck again. "Yes, I remember that very well, and I don't think I will ever forget it."  
"You shouldn't forget it – that was the idea, because then you'll think about it next time before you act," Martin said.  
He looked at Benedict, ran his hand through his hair.

As much as he loved his Sherlock colleague and close friend, as amazing as the magic between them was, he had needed to tell him off loudly, grumpily and madly – it had been a right royal dressing down.  
He thought extremely poorly of cheating, and he had made his aversion abundantly clear to Benedict during that roasting.

"I fell in love with Leila just a few month ago. You know I'm not even the guy for a one-night stand. I would think too much about every little consequence, and I just don't want to share a bed with someone I don't love," he said. "Amanda was bitchy about Leila, but that's her problem now, not mine. I won’t let her spoil my happiness about that love comeback," he chatted. "Don't get me wrong. I'm really grateful for the relationship with Amanda - most of it was great and beautiful, otherwise we wouldn't have been in a relationship for nearly 16 years. And because of her, I now have two wonderful children who I absolutely don't want to miss - not even for a nanosecond, and I don't want to think about missing them for a nanosecond in my life, ... but right now she's just… I don’t even know how to describe it,… she just isn’t her usual self and bitchy about everything that’s not the way she wants it to be,” he said. “I think you feel the same way about your kids."

Benedict tilted his head, smiled at Martin, nodded.

"I know what you want to tell me, Martin. And you're right, I love my children as much as you love Joe and Gracie," he said, smiling. "Don't worry about Amanda - if she thinks you cheated on her, that's a problem she has and not you. Enjoy what you've with Leila - she's fantastic and a perfect match for you." He smiled to Martin, who just smiled at him, stroking his hair and his beard with a radiant smile. "Do you regret the break-up?"

Martin tilted his head, then shook it.

"No. It's a little crazy. I’m so fucking happy with her right now, I’m so fucking happy about the love comeback. It feels like I've missed her massively as my girlfriend all these years. I feel like I would have loved to have all these things with her - buying a house, becoming a father, getting married, ... and certainly the marriage proposal would have taken place very soon,… if it would have been the right time for us. It wasn't our time, as beautiful and perfect as it was. But we both know that if we had stayed together, we would have split up in the long run."  
Benedict smiled at him.  
"A blind man could see that you’re on top of the world right now and head over heels in love," Ben winked. "And,... is now the right time?" he smiled.  
Martin smiled amorously.  
"Well,... I have a feeling that this is our time."

Benedict's eyes lit up.

"Well, you're not ancient and rotten, yet," he grinned. "You still have time to let the wedding bells and baby bells ring."  
Martin laughed.  
"Take it easy. We're just enjoying our love comeback for barely two months now."  
"With quite a lot of sex... " Ben grinned. "Do you think that someday you’ll marry her and welcome a little cute baby with her?”  
"Ben, stop it!" Martin grinned.  
"I'd like to have an answer," Ben grinned.  
"Just because I can imagine marrying her and having a baby with her doesn't mean it necessarily has to happen," Martin said. "Now stop it!"

But Benedict didn't even think about it.

"Aww, a Martin and Leila baby would be so cute and adorable. And to finally see you married to such a wonderful woman would be absolutely lovely, too," Ben grinned and pointed his finger at him. "But for the record,... I’ll be the godfather and the best man at your wedding."  
"When did you become such a pain in the ass, Cumberbatch? Stop with the baby and wedding gibberish now!"  
"As long as you remember to make me the godfather and best man, I will stop," Ben grinned euphorically.  
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you in general... SHOULD it EVER happen. Paul had already put his name on the best man’s list. And even though he didn't mention it when we skyped with him a few days ago, he certainly didn't forget about it; he was so passionate about our love comeback that he immediately called it out to his wife and kids."

Benedict laughed heartily.

"He did?"  
"Yes," Martin grinned. "He shouted through the whole house that Leila and I are a couple again."  
"Then you're lucky that Vision hasn't announced it to all the other Avengers, yet," Ben grinned. 

Martin laughed and shook his head in amusement.  
His best friend Paul from his childhood was none other than Paul Bettany, who not only gave Jarvis a voice, but also embodied Vision.   
They had met on the first day of preschool when Paul had moved from London to Aldershot with his family - but he, and even his family, had moved back to London after school.  
In the meantime, he lived in London's Harlesden or in New York's Brooklyn with his wife and his two kids.   
Neither the press nor the fans had any idea that he and Paul had been friends for over 40 years by now, that this friendship was going back to their childhood - but they didn't have to know everything; they didn't need to know that Paul was his best friend so that he himself knew what a great friendship he had with Paul; they didn't need to know that he was Paul's best friend so that he himself knew how important he was to Paul.   
The close friendship with him had not changed, nor had his friendship with Leila or his friendship with Teresa.

"You can duel Jarvis or Vision if you want to take away his best man's job."  
Ben grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.  
"So, you want to marry Leila?!"  
"That was purely HYPOTHETICAL," Martin said. "Can you stop that now!?" He growled grumpy.  
"It's not too late to get married. But you shouldn’t wait too long with the maybe - maybe you should try to make one, and not just yap about hypotheses," Ben grinned unimpressed by Martin’s grumpy voice.

The bar of chocolate flew from one armchair to the other armchair.  
It didn't hit Benedict on the chest as it should, it hit Benedict on the forehead - unintentionally.

"OUCH!!!" Ben whined and rubbed his forehead.

"Ooooops." Martin mumbled.

He put down the plate, stood up, came to Ben, tousled through the brown curly hair.   
He bent down, even gave him a friendly kiss on the forehead - on the spot that had been hit by the Oreo chocolate bar.

Benedict patted Martin's arm.  
"Sit down, you little grumpy stinker," he grinned.  
He leaned back a little, looked up at Martin.

Martin smiled down, had to grin - but before he went back to his armchair, he grabbed the chocolate out of Benedict's lap.

Benedict rubbed his forehead again – his grin turned into a smile.

"Joking apart," he smiled in his dark voice. "I'm very happy for you and Leila," he said, pointing at him with his hand. "I mean, look in the mirror - I really haven't seen you this balanced and happy and on top of the world in a long time. Leila,… well Leila at your side as your girlfriend, is the best thing that could’ve happen to you. It's great that you got a second chance, and I really hope that you can enjoy it the way you want to enjoy it."

"Thanks, Ben!" Martin's eyes lit up.


	30. The First and the Last

_**\- Saturday, November/16 - 2019, London, Camden Primrose Hill, Wadham Gardens -** _

"It was lovely that you stopped by for a little chat despite your date with Leila," Ben smiled while hugging Martin warm and heartily. 

Their time, even though it had been relatively short in context to their other meetings, had been of very high quality - they had made the most out of it.  
They had enjoyed their meeting in front of the fireplace, with chocolate, with cake, with their conversations - conversations about Leila, conversations about Martin, conversations about Ben, conversations about Sophie, conversations about their children.  
They had chatted and laughed - and Benedict had repeatedly teased Martin in a roundabout way with Leila, or rather with deliberately placed comments about a baby and a wedding.  
Martin had ignored most of these comments, or had simply showed Benedict his notorious middle finger - but it didn't really have any effect on Benedict anymore, at least not the one he had hoped for, because Benedict just started to grin or to laugh as soon as he flipped his finger. 

Benedict had loved to see Martin, had loved the fact that he had stopped by despite his date with Leila - of course, they hadn't had much time for each other, but often it didn't matter how much time they spent with each other but what they made of it.  
He always loved to spend time with Martin, of course as much as possible, but he was also happy about half an hour, about five minutes, or a few hours like today - the two and a half hours had been excellent. 

Martin squeezed Benedict's shoulder, patted the back of Benedict's head with the other hand.  
He had enjoyed the time with Ben as well - he didn't care how much time they spent together, it was more about what they made of it.  
It was the same with Paul, whom he saw rather seldom in the meantime, because of their work and because Paul had moved to Brooklyn - he was in London every now and then, but Paul's life mainly took place in Brooklyn now. It wasn't the quantity of time they spent together that mattered, but the quality of it - and that's why he was chuffed to bits about two hours of intense skyping in the middle of the night.  
Similar to Paul, it was the same with Ben - it didn't matter if they met or not, if they had time for each other or not; they didn't lose sight of each other, and whenever he met them, it felt as if they had just met yesterday and had a fantastic time together.

"Yeah, it was great to spend some time with you," Martin smiled. "But if you ever mention a baby or a wedding again, I'll cut off your tongue and give it back to you shaped like a middle finger."

Benedict laughed.

"That's disgusting! How did you come up with that little horror story?"  
Martin grinned and shrugged his shoulders.  
"Leila and I watched a weird horror movie last night. Something similar happened in it."  
Ben grinned.  
"Why did you watch this?!"  
"Somehow, we couldn't switch to another channel. It was such a bad movie," Martin grinned. “So, you better never mention a baby or a wedding, otherwise all your fans will hate me because you can't speak anymore, and they can't hear your great deep voice any longer."  
"I'll try to control myself," Ben grinned relaxed and then smiled. "Now off you go - your girlfriend is waiting for you," he winked. "Enjoy the rest of the day and the rest of the weekend," he smiled.  
Martin's grin turned into a smile as well.  
"We will enjoy it. Have a great weekend too."  
"I most certainly will."

They smiled at each other, hugged each other again.  
Hands rubbed across each other's backs.  
Hands pressed the shoulder of the other.  
Hands patted the back of the other's head.  
They smiled at each other, took a step back.

Martin raised his hand, smiled at Benedict again before turning around and walking down the driveway.

Strolling, he made his way to his car.  
The time with Ben had been great, but now he was looking forward to Leila - he couldn't wait to see her.

Euphorically, he walked along the street - with elated steps he walked to his car.  
From here it would take him about fourteen minutes to drive to Leila - only fourteen minutes and he would be with Leila.  
His heart pounded joyfully against his ribcage.  
The butterflies danced lovestruck in his tummy.  
The body tingled in anticipation.  
A smile nestled dreamily on his face.  
Euphorically he started the engine of his car - only fourteen minutes left, then he would hold his Leila in his arms, enjoying a kiss from her. 

His car drove along the road, turning right onto Elsworthy Road.  
Thinking of Leila always made his heart race faster.  
He turned left onto the B252.  
Seeing Leila made his belly tingle amorously at any time due to many dancing butterflies.  
He turned right onto the Outer Circle of Regent's Park.  
Being with Leila made his entire body tingle automatically.  
He drove past Regent's Park.  
Having Leila with him brought a smile to his face.  
He turned slightly to the right onto Baker Street.  
Leila not only brought a smile to his face but also a radiance and sparkle into his eyes.  
He turned right onto the A501.  
Thinking of Leila made him calm down, even though his heart was beating very fast.  
He drove from the A501 onto the A40.  
Leila let him feel and enjoy love very intensely.  
He took the exit and continued on the A404 towards Kensal Rise/Paddington.  
Leila was security for him.  
He turned slightly left onto Bishop's Bridge Road.  
But Leila was also home.  
He turned left onto Gloucester Terrace, followed the road.  
Thinking of Leila made him feel all warm and cosy.  
He turned right onto Chilworth Street.  
With Leila, he could just be himself.  
He turned left onto Devonshire Terrace.  
He loved Leila so much that there were no words to describe the love for her.  
His car turned right onto Queen's Gardens - this was where Leila lived.

The car rolled slowly, parked in front of the entrance with the number ‘52’ - here in this house, Leila had an apartment. She had an apartment, which like the other two apartments in the house was divided over two floors. All the houses in this street looked the same, they all contained one flat that extended over the cellar and the ground floor, one flat that extended over the first and second floor, and one flat that extended over the third and fourth floor.

Martin turned off the engine. 

He grabbed the Paul Smith bag from the passenger seat, got out, locked the car and walked to the front door with brisk steps - he rang the bell at the sign with the inscription: Leila V. Chaplin.  
He was just about to ask himself how long he would have to wait for Leila when he heard her pleasant voice.  
"Yes?"  
"Hey, you gonna let me in?"  
"Since you sound like Martin Freeman, I'll let you in," the voice grinned.  
The door buzzed, he pushed it open with a grin. 

His feet carried him hurriedly to the third floor.

Leila was already beaming at him, stepped aside immediately, let him in immediately, had been looking forward to him all day long; she had spent the night at his place and only this morning after breakfast she had gone to an appointment and then back to her place.  
But she was always looking forward to Martin because she mostly missed him as soon as they said goodbye.  
She was very much looking forward to the rest of the weekend with him. 

Martin slipped into the apartment, kicked the door shut, then immediately felt Leila’s arms around his neck.  
He beamed at her, took her face in both hands.  
Their lips met longingly and lovingly.  
Leila smiled against his lips, enjoyed the loving and yearning kiss, enjoyed the slightly rough lips that could kiss outrageously talented. 

Gently their noses rubbed each other after the kiss, two little kisses were exchanged.  
They smiled, did not release the intimate hugged, and breathed two more kisses on their lips.  
Again, the noses rubbed each other in circular movements. 

Gently and softly, Martin's tongue nudged against her lips, eyes closed again; gently, Martin's tongue nudged against Lila's tongue, making their tongues dance with each other.  
He sighed in the kiss, heard her purr, felt her hands in his hair.  
They enjoyed the French kiss immensely, devoted themselves to it. 

Once again, their noses rubbed each other, their eyes opened, sparkling turquoise and blue. 

"Hello, Mrs. Chaplin," he purred against her lips, breathing a kiss on them.  
"Hello, Mr. Freeman," Leila sighed against Martin's lips, breathed a kiss on them, too. 

They lowered their arms, their hands found each other. 

Martin squeezed her hands, before letting go off them - he slipped out of his shoes, put the bag down and slipped out of his jacket.  
His hand was clasped again, he was led from the entrance area into the cosy living room.

Martin followed her, followed every step - and as he stood in front of the navy-blue comfortable sofa, he was skilfully pushed onto it.  
He landed on the sofa, smiled, leaned against the backrest.  
Soul music resounded through the living room at a pleasant volume.

Leila smiled down – she needed this man like the air to breathe, and she felt an intense desire to cuddle with him.  
She sat down next to him but put her legs over his thighs.  
She was hugged, his hands lay on her lumbar spine.  
Leila put her hands on the right and left side of his neck, beamed at him - her thumbs were caressing his jaw.

"It's good to have you here", her turquoise eyes shone with a golden touch.  
"I've been looking forward to seeing you all day long," the blue eyes glowed dreamily. 

They exchanged a tender kiss.

Their eyes shone splendorous, their noses nudged each other.  
"How was your appointment?"  
"Everything went well," she smiled. "What were you up to all day long?"  
"I was visiting Ben," Martin smiled.  
"Sherlock Ben?" Leila asked with a smile since Martin knew a few people with that name.  
"That's the one." Martin smiled.  
"Well, I'm sure you had a lovely time, then."  
"I had; Greetings from him - and he wanted me to tell you that he is very happy that you made me fall in love with you all over again," he smiled.  
"It played right into my hands that I made you fall in love with me all over again, since you made me fall in love with you all over again, too."  
Their eyes lit up as they looked deeply into each other’s eyes.

Their lips captured each other, their lips kissed tenderly. 

Their noses nudged each other again - Leila's hands were still on Martin's neck, thumbs gently caressing his jaw.  
Their lips found each other again, merging into a deep kiss - Martin's left hand caressed from her lumbar spine over her thighs, which were lying over his thighs; the hand caressed to her knee, the fingertips tickled from the knee to her hip.  
Their noses nudged each other, they smiled - there had been a soft smacking.

Eyes gleamed dreamily and lovestruck once again.

"I guess Ben offered you chocolate and cake," she smiled - she had already tasted it during the first kiss.  
"You’ve caught me," Martin smiled. 

They looked deep into each other's eyes, kept silent, just listened to the music, watching the impulses in each other's eyes.  
Turquoise and gold gazed into blue.  
Blue looked into turquoise and gold.  
They listened to the music, saw enthusiasm, joy, euphoria, infatuation, deep love, security and well-being in the eyes of the other. 

Forehead lay against forehead, the eyes were closed slowly.

Martin held her with both hands, had put both hands on her lumbar spine again; he still felt her hands on the right and left side of his neck, felt the thumbs still caressing his jaw.  
His thumbs stroked her back while his heart and tummy enjoyed the closeness to her.  
He breathed calmly, enjoying the perfume he perceived and also Leila's very own scent.  
Even in the past, they had spent hours of just cuddling and listening to music - they had spent lots of hours listening to records, cuddling and snuggling in silence.  
He had always enjoyed it very much. 

Leila felt his heart beating fast, sending the same rhythm back into his chest. Her thumbs felt a three-day beard while caressing his jaw, which had already tickled and scratched a lot when they had exchanged kisses – she loved that feeling.  
She loved his hug, loved the gentle caresses on her back, loved to feel his thighs under hers.  
She enjoyed the closeness to him; loved this warmth and calmness he radiated for her - she felt incredibly comfortable and secure; with Martin one could be so wonderfully cosy.  
And once again, he smelled outrageously good - she loved his very own scent, but she also loved that perfume.  
She loved to cuddle and snuggle with him, she loved to listen to the music and to enjoy his closeness.

Without moving, Leila and Martin remained sitting in this position and in silence for half an hour, only listening to the soul music that could be heard through the stereo equipment.  
They managed to cuddle like this for half an hour, but then the desire for a kiss was too strong.

Gently, they leaned back very slightly, gently nudging their noses, gently kissing their lips - they exchanged little kisses; lots of little and sweet kisses. 

Leila opened her eyes, smiled at Martin, smiled into his eyes.  
"You know what's really great?"  
"Yes,... you!" He beamed charmingly with a wink.  
Leila smiled flattered, rewarding him with a tender kiss.  
"I just meant something else," she winked. "It's really great that due to this love comeback, the wish I had as a teenager will hopefully be fulfilled after all these years," she beamed.  
Martin bowed his head, smiled.  
"What kind of wish did you have that I apparently don't know nothing about yet?" He purred.  
Leila gave him another kiss.

She leaned back a little, looked him in the eyes.

"I wished very much that you'd be my first and last boyfriend," she breathed. "When we were a couple, I wished for it, and I already wished for it when I fell in love with you for the very first time. I had wished for you to be my first and my last boyfriend." Her eyes sparkled. "It seems that this wish may yet come true. That's why in four years, you’re not allowed to come up with any stupid ideas."

Martin beamed, raised one hand, gently stroked the loose strands behind her ear. 

"I won't get any stupid ideas, not this time. And you’re not allowed to have one either, honey. Because I also have the big hope that my own wish will come true," he breathed in a warm voice. "Many years ago, I wished very much that you'd be my first and my last girlfriend. You were my first girlfriend – a stunning one. And I hope that with this second chance and this wonderful love comeback, you'll be my last girlfriend too."

Leila's eyes glowed brightly. 

"Neither of us is gonna get any ideas in four years," she breathed.  
"We'll never get any foolish ideas," he muttered. 

She breathed a kiss on his lips, nibbled gently at his lips, sucked gently at his lower lip - she heard Martin purr and sigh, felt his left hand on her thigh again. 

Longingly and intimately their tongues found each other, united to an intimate and intense French kiss.  
They forgot the world around them, didn’t even hear the music anymore, which still resounded pleasantly through the living room.  
They devoted themselves to the kiss and to each other, concentrated only on each other; they were in their very own world.  
Longingly and intimately they kissed each other with a strongly beating heart and wildly flying butterflies.  
The French kiss was intimate and intense - they kissed each other almost unconsciously.

Intense and loud, Martin's stomach growled.

Leila bit Martin's lower lip with a giggle.  
She leaned back a little, still giggling. 

Their lips were wet, their lips were slightly swollen and red. 

Her right hand caressed from Martin's neck to his chest, caressed across his sweater, caressed down to his tummy - she rubbed gently over it, and she was still giggling.

"With cake and chocolate in your cute little tummy, your tummy shouldn't growl at all yet, but since I'm getting hungry too, ... how about we go out for a nice dinner," she now smiled. 

Martin enjoyed the rubbing on his tummy – he looked at her with wet and swollen lips; his eyes glistened softly and innocently.

"Dinner sounds nice."  
"Indian?"  
"Lovely."  
"Masala Zone?"  
"Perfect!"

Leila smiled at him as her left hand wandered into his grey hair; she tousled through it - she was looking forward to the rest of the evening with him.

She nudged the nose of the man who had once been her very first boyfriend.  
She kissed the lips of the man who would hopefully be her last boyfriend.


	31. The First and the Last - Part Two

_**\- Wednesday, August/27 - 1986, England, Surrey Heath/Hamsphire -** _

**Flashback**

The sun was high up in the sky – since a few weeks now, the sun was shining above England, very warm, very hot, very cosy. The extremely good weather had made the summer holidays even better. 

There had hardly been a day with Martin sitting in the house; actually, he had been out and about every day from morning until late in the evening, mostly with his friends.  
And he had enjoyed two weeks in France right at the beginning of the summer holidays with his own family and the Chaplin family – lots of sunshine, lots of fun, lots of adventures and time with Leila.  
He had been out and about from morning until late in the evening, had done a lot with his friends; quite often they had been at the Frensham Little Pond, swimming all day long. 

Today, they were appointed again; and like the last days, they wanted to go to the Frensham Little Pond. After all they wanted to enjoy the last days of their summer holidays.

He waited on the street.  
He waited for Leila with his best friend Paul and Leila's best friend Teresa – Leila was just pushing her bike out of the garage.  
He was sitting on his mint-green bicycle, holding on to the lantern next to him - he already wore his light blue swimming shorts; otherwise he was just dressed in a black polo shirt and white sneakers. With a backpack on his back, he was happily beaming, while the light breeze was waving and tousling through his blond hair – he was watching Leila through his sunglasses.  
Paul was standing next to him, holding his bike; he was already wearing dark swimming shorts, as well as a white polo shirt; a backpack was sitting on his back, too. The light breeze ruffled through his short blond hair. He was pinching his right eye since the bright sun was blinding him – freckles on his nose and cheeks.  
Teresa stood behind them, she too had a backpack on her back; she wore a T-shirt and shorts, her brown hair was tied in a pigtail and sunglasses protected her green eyes from the sun. 

Martin was really looking forward to swimming in the lake with his friends; he was also looking forward to the little bicycle trip since it took almost 50 minutes from here to the Frensham Little Pond.  
He beamed through his sunglasses, beamed at Leila, who was now riding her bike towards him. 

The others got on their bikes, too.  
Martin took his hand from the lantern, beamed at Leila, who beamed at him.

Teresa rode her bike past them, joined Paul.

Martin and Leila gave each other a high five while they followed Paul and Teresa - only half an hour ago they had finished the big lovely family breakfast in Leila's parents' garden; and yet you could see the pure joy about seeing each other again.

Teresa and Paul turned their heads to Leila and Martin for a little moment, just to see the beam and sparkle in their friend’s faces and their high five.  
They turned their heads back, turned their heads towards each other – grinned.  
"I think they're totally in love with each other," Paul grinned - he had turned 15 in May.  
"Yes, I think so, too," Teresa grinned, who had turned 15 in late June. "It’s as plain as the nose in your face. They're not just beaming at each other because they're best friends."  
Paul grinned broadly, looked back at Martin and Leila again - his best friend was the only one from their clique who was still 14, but Martin would also turn 15 in a few days.  
He turned his head back again, rode his bike next to Teresa.  
"Do you know anything about it? Did Leila say something to you?"  
"Nah, she didn't say anything. What about you? Did Martin say anything?"  
"Nah, he didn’t. But I actually wanted to ask him," Paul grinned. "But we already know that they're madly in love with each other, anyway."  
Teresa nodded with a grin.  
"It'll be just the right thing to do today," she smiled. "Swimming…" she still grinned. "She can see him in just his swim shorts, and he can see her in her bikini."  
"Oh, Teresa," Paul grinned, looked to the street again and heard Teresa’s laugh.  
They continued driving side by side, being followed by Leila and Martin. 

Leila rode her bike next to Martin.  
She was wearing a summer dress, had her hair in a loose bun, some red strands fell on her face and shoulders.  
She stroked her hair behind her ear, turned her head briefly towards Martin, beamed at him.  
Actually, they had been at the lake the day before yesterday, but she was looking forward to spending the day at the lake again.  
The trips to Frensham Little Pond this summer had been unique - and they would enjoy the last days as well.

Her eyes looked at Martin, whose short blond hair was waving through the light summer breeze.  
His profile looked soft; the sunglasses that sat on his button nose looked very good on him, his lips showed a smile.  
His slender body sat athletically on the bicycle; his skin was still quite pale despite the amount of sun throughout that summer; his slender bare legs were riding the bicycle - very agile and fit.  
Her eyes kept looking at him, while she concentrated on the road at the same time.  
He was dressed very well and fashionably - as always.

She beamed to him.  
He just looked incredibly cute and sweet and absolutely adorable.  
Her head kept whispering to her that he was incredibly sweet, that he was just gorgeously cute and gobsmacking adorable.  
Her heart raced faster and faster whenever she looked at him, whenever she felt him close to her.  
Her belly was always tingling immensely when he talked to her, when he looked at her, when he made her laugh or when he got upset and grumpy about something.  
Hyperventilating, her heart leapt into her throat as he turned his head towards her, as he smiled charmingly.  
Tingling, the butterflies in her tummy danced even wilder as he not only smiled charmingly, but also talked to her.

"Are we going to the summer party this weekend – just the two of us?" He asked in his warm, pleasant voice.

Leila's heart was beating faster, in the same fast and wild beat as her best friend's heart, but she couldn't know neither couldn't she have suspected it.  
Nor could she guess, nor could she know that the butterflies in Martin's belly were dancing and flying just as wildly as her own.

"That would be great! I'd love to go to the summer party with you – just with you," she beamed.

Martin's heart was overflowing with joy and euphoria, unaware that Leila's heart was also overflowing with euphoria and enthusiasm.  
Nor did he suspect that 10,000 butterflies were fluttering happily in Leila's stomach. 

He turned his head to the street again, looked back at the path, which was now lined with bushes, trees and grass - they had left the urban landscape behind, were now in the pure nature, but it would still take them another half an hour to Frensham Little Pond. 

Half an hour later, the bicycles stopped at Frensham Little Pond, to be precise they already leaned against some trees.  
As in the previous days, the four friends were very lucky since they were having the beach area all to themselves - most of the visitors preferred to go to Frensham Pond since there were restaurants, an ice cream van, a snack van, and more to spend some money on.  
But they preferred the small offshoot, because it was quieter and the snacks they brought from home tasted much better in their opinion.

They had spread out a blanket, had put their backpacks on it, had taken off their clothes except for their shorts or bikinis. 

Paul and Martin as well as Leila and Teresa were running through the sand and the sun; they were running into the water while the snacks and drinks were waiting for them on the cosy blanket - cookies, sandwiches, sweets, crisps, fruits and even vegetables; water, coke and red sherbet.

They had taken a ball into the water with them, threw it back and forth; their upper bodies still sticking out of the water, were warmed up by the bright sun while their legs and feet were surrounded by the cool water.

After some time, the ball flew into the water again since Paul hadn’t caught it - it floated in the water, floating next to Paul.

"I'm having enough of this," he said, even though it had been a lot of fun in the last ten minutes.  
He dropped backwards into the water, dived into the cold water.  
Martin picked the ball out of the water, looked at the two girls.  
"Do you still want to play?" he asked smiling as Paul reappeared.  
Teresa shook her head.  
"Well, I’m having enough for now too," she smiled.  
"Me too," Leila nodded smiling.  
"Okay," Martin said and threw the ball out of the water and back to the cosy blanket – the ball rolled onto the sand.

Leila and Teresa walked further into the water, were followed by Paul and Martin.  
They walked into the water until they could no longer stand – so they swam side by side. 

Martin dived under the water – and a short time later he showed up with wet blond hair.  
He ran his hand through his wet blond hair, stroked it backwards before wiping the water out of his face.  
He turned his head to the others who were wildly splashing water to the others – immediately he felt lots of water in his own face; Paul had splashed the water into his face.  
He laughed, defended himself immediately.

The girls were laughing too as they all ended up in a water fight. 

They kicked their legs in the water to keep afloat, their arms wildly wiped through the water to splash it to the others - they laughed loudly and euphorically, were having a lot of fun.  
And sometimes they even swallowed some of the water by accident.

With lots of laughter they had attacked each other to exhaustion. 

They had swum back, had relaxed on the blanket and in the sand while they had refilled their bodies with their snacks and drinks. 

Martin and Paul sat on the blanket, but Leila and Teresa went back into the water a few minutes ago.

Martin had stretched out his legs, supported himself with the palms of his hands - he looked to the water, watched and eyed Leila.  
The blue eyes looked at her uninhibitedly, since Leila was quite busy with Teresa.  
They were just standing knee-deep in the water, playing the ball back and forth, playing some kind of volleyball.  
The red hair was wet, not in a bun anymore and hanging over her shoulders; she was wearing a bikini, dark green it was - small well-formed breasts, the belly was flat, the legs slim, the butt looked even more luscious than usually.  
He swallowed, bit his lower lip - he thought that she was gobsmacking pretty.

"You're madly into Leila, aren't you?" Paul asked, who saw his best friend's glare.

Martin blinked, licked his lower lip, then turned his head very slowly towards Paul, hardly able to take his eyes off Leila.  
He blinked again, then looked at Paul.  
"What?"  
Paul grinned broadly.  
"I said you are madly into Leila. You're having a massive crush on her. Well, you’re madly in love with her."  
Martin looked at his best friend - his cheeks and ears suddenly turned red; he rubbed his neck briefly, then supported himself with both hands again; his eyes sparkled shyly, but also grumpy.  
Again, he raised his hand briefly, but didn't rub his hand across the neck, he showed Paul his middle finger with bright red ears and bright red, ashamed cheeks.  
"Just shut up, Paul!" the warm voice said - half shy, half grumpy.  
Paul laughed.  
"You couldn't have given me a bigger yes. All I really wanted was your verbal confirmation. It's absolutely obvious that you’re on cloud nine and completely soppy on her. But well, otherwise, your staring would have given it away anyway," Paul said to Martin, who had already turned his head back to Leila.

He looked at her again, just ignored Paul - he was feeling uncomfortable because he was quite shy, and somehow he was ashamed. They hadn't talked about girls yet, even if they had talked about some things they had already tried to pleasure themselves, secretly, under the blanket - but girls were just something else.  
And this girl he was watching right now, was just gorgeous, had taken his breath away - and she was just damn pretty,... actually gobsmacking beautiful,… well, she was actually pretty hot.  
He licked his lower lip, swallowed while checking out Leila's body as she was just wearing her bikini.

The blue eyes flittered over her body.

Paul grinned, glanced at Martin, nudged him with his shoulder.  
"You’re having a situation in your swimming shorts because of your Leila," he grinned.

Martin's cheeks immediately turned bright red again – slowly he lowered his eyes towards his light blue swimming shorts and they actually showed that he was quite aroused at the moment.  
He sat up quickly – cheeks and ears were glowing red and hot.  
He wrapped his arms around his knees, feeling his erection very clearly - he had been aroused quite often lately, but since he was a teenager this was pretty normal; lately he was quite often aroused because of Leila.  
He preferred to distract from his erection but could not take his eyes off Leila. 

"Yeah... Jesus Christ, yes!... I'm… I’m madly into Leila," he admitted. “I’m very much in love with her,” he murmured.  
"I know you are," Paul smiled. "Leila's amazing. You two are amazing together. You really should tell her you love her. I think she likes you too - not just as her best friend."  
Martin chewed on his lower lip.  
"It's a funny feeling," he murmured. "Well,... being in love. I've never been in love before. Have you ever been in love?"  
"Nah, I don't think so," Paul said. "Do you have that fast-beating heart and those butterflies in your tummy everyone's always talking about?"  
"Hmm,... lots of butterflies and an almost hyperventilating fast heartbeat. It's amazing, absolutely lovely,... but also somehow weird," Martin murmured, still looking to Leila. "She's gobsmacking beautiful…" he murmured with an adoring voice.  
Paul smiled.  
"I'm happy for you,... that you fell in love for the first time. And yes, Leila's a pretty girl - you'd make a pretty good match. Maybe you'll dare telling her soon. I really think that she likes you very much too."  
Martin sighed.  
"We'll see when I’m brave enough."  
"Don't wait too long. It would be awesome if she would be your first girlfriend."  
Martin sighed again, leaned back again, supported himself with his hands again.  
"It would also be pretty amazing if she would also be my last girlfriend."  
"You have to make her your first girlfriend first – so open up to her, Martin."  
"Yeah..."

Martin's blue eyes still sparkled and languished towards Leila, still looking at her beautiful 15-year-old body.  
His heart was beating faster, his tummy was tingling, his knees felt soft.

"You still have a situation in your swimming shorts," Paul grinned. "I'll go to the girls and distract them, then you can come into the water and the situation will be done, or you can stay here, calm down a bit and then join us when the situation in your swimming shorts has calmed down again," he said with a winking grin and stood up.

Martin just turned around, laid down on his belly, but stretched out his arm again; he showed him his middle finger, closed his eyes and could still feel his erection - it was better to be aroused while being in bed since he was able to really do something about it. 

He couldn't know that Leila had also repeatedly eyed and watched him today - very quietly and secretly.  
He couldn't know that Leila had just opened up to Teresa, telling her that she was pretty into him and pretty much in love with him.  
He couldn't know that Leila also wished to have him as her first and last boyfriend.

"He's pretty cute, but he's not my type," Teresa smiled. "But I can understand why you think he's great - and a handsome boy he is, in any case," Teresa commented her best friend’s last comment. "To be honest, you two are looking pretty adorable together."  
"Yeah, he's incredibly cute," Leila said again in a voice full of euphoria and love. "Not only what you can look at is sweet and cute, ... also just the way he is," she enthused in a young female voice.  
"You're pining for him like a clichéd girl," Teresa grinned. "Is there any other word besides sweet and cute in reference to your Martin?"  
"Just let me be a bit of a clichéd girl," Leila grinned. "And yes! There's another word besides sweet and cute!"  
"I can't wait to hear it," Teresa grinned.  
"Adorable," Leila’s voice languished.  
Teresa rolled her eyes and grinned.  
"Then tell the sweet, cute and adorable Martin that you're totally in love and on cloud nine with him, and that he has to be your first and last boyfriend," she grinned again. "Paul is coming," she said and stopped their conversation.

Paul smiled to the girls.  
"Martin will be with us any minute; he wanted to recharge his batteries a little more, to be really cheeky and sassy again," he smiled and got his best friend out of a jam.

Leila and Teresa smiled at him - and they didn't have to wait too long for Martin to join them.  
They didn’t have to wait long for the boy, who hoped that Leila would be his first and last girlfriend.


	32. Cheeky Daddy

_**\- Saturday, November/23 - 2019, London, Camden, Hampstead, Mansion Gardens, Martin's House -** _

Warmth wafted through the cosy living room, where only the flickering fireplace produced some light. 

The evening was quite different from what they had actually planned to do, but the weather had literally cancelled their plans for tonight.  
Actually, tonight was supposed to be a movie night with popcorn, coke, and sundaes filled with chocolate sauce and other goodies, but they had needed to cancel the movie night spontaneously. 

During their dinner it had already stormed, rained, flashed and thundered - but the four of them had been able to enjoy their dinner comfortably at the big round wooden table.  
Together they had prepared the films and goodies for the night, but when everything had been prepared and the four of them had sat comfortably on the couch, already listening to the music of 20th Century Fox, all the lights and digital clocks in the house, including the TV, had suddenly gone out.  
The weather had caused a power cut - not only Martin's house was affected, but the rest of the houses in the street as well; and so far the problem had not been fixed.

Martin, Leila, Joe and Gracie were sitting on the floor, right in front of the fireplace.  
They all wore grey sweatpants.  
They all wore black socks.  
They all wore comfortable sweaters, but the colours were different.  
Gracie's sweater was ruby-coloured, Joe's sweater was light blue, Leila's sweater was navy blue, Martin's sweater was dark green.

Together they sat in front of the fireplace, forming a small circle with a tray in the middle.  
And on this tray were all the goodies they had already prepared for the movie night.  
Popcorn, gummy bears, crisps, chocolates, cola and wine.

Joe leaned over to his dad, and with a grin on his face he glued a note to Martin's forehead – he had just written something on it.  
He stuck it to his dad’s forehead, gave his daddy a big grinning kiss on the cheek and then sat down next to him again - cross-legged.

They had played 'Who am I' for a few rounds now - and only a moment ago Leila had guessed that a note with the word 'Cleopatra' had stuck to her forehead.

"Okay, am I female?" Martin asked and looked at his children and Leila who had been making his heart race faster all evening since it felt like he was a family with them.  
They shook their heads.  
"Am I a real person?"  
Leila nodded with a smile.  
"Yes, you are."  
"Do I have anything to do with music?" He asked and grabbed some popcorn.  
They shook their head again.  
Martin looked around, chewed his popcorn, thought about the next question, smiled at the others who also helped themselves to the goodies - it was great to be with them.  
"Am I in any way an entertainer?"

Gracie grinned at him with a nod.  
"Yes, you are," she said, still chewing but nevertheless putting the next gummy bear in her mouth.  
She enjoyed the evening quite a lot, even though she had been looking forward to the movie night - but she also enjoyed the evening full of games in front of the fireplace very much.  
They had not started with 'Who am I'.  
The game Twister had been the first one - and they had to laugh a lot, because especially her dad and Leila had been in some very funny positions; once they only fell down because they had needed to kiss each other.  
Afterwards, they had played 'The Settlers of Catan' - unfortunately, Joe had won.  
After they had played ‘The Settlers of Catan’, they had taken a break with an ice-cream sundae while listening to some funny children's stories told by their dad and Leila.  
After their break, they had played the family edition of Trivial Pursuit - but when their dad had won it after a while, they had switched to the current game.  
It was already Saturday – it was already after midnight.  
She looked at her daddy, grinning and beaming - she was completely satisfied with the course of the evening, with the course of the night; and she felt incredibly comfortable with her dad and Leila.  
It was great that they all spent the weekend together.

"Am I seen on TV because of what I do?" Martin asked and looked around.  
Joe looked at him, nodded.  
"Yep. You are seen on TV."  
Martin turned his head to him, thinking - he was definitely not himself, because the first time he got a note stuck to his forehead, he had been agonizing for almost a quarter of an hour trying to figure out what was written on the note on his forehead, only to finally realise that his own name had been written on the note.  
"Am I still alive?"  
Leila shook her head.  
"No."  
"Great, that doesn't make it any easier."  
Gracie grinned at him.  
"It's not our problem."  
Martin grinned, then shook his head in amusement.  
"Okay... um... did I make movies?"  
"Yes," Leila, Joe and Gracie said in unison.  
"Was I alive in 1971?"  
"Yes," they said in unison again.  
"Did I live in 1990?"  
"No," Leila smiled, picked up her wine glass and sipped at it. "You weren't alive in 1990."  
"Okay, that narrows it down a bit," he said and took a chocolate. "Have I grown old?  
"What do you mean by old?" Leila asked.  
"Have I turned 70?", he asked - he wanted to try to limit the many possibilities by age and above all he wanted to find out when the person on his note had lived. If Leila wanted him to ask the question in more detail, the person seemed to be quite old in any case.  
"You didn’t make it to 70," she shook her head.

He added the information to the other information.  
So, he was male, aged 69 or less, and he had made films.  
Well, it wasn't that much.  
He took his wine, sipped at it once, felt on top of the world and as fit as a fiddle - and he could also see in the faces of his fellow players that they too felt extremely good and comfortable. They beamed at him, their eyes sparkled, their mouths smiled.  
Leila looked at him amorously; Gracie looked at him adoring; Joe beamed happily and proudly, his eyes showed clearly that he couldn’t think of a place where he would rather be.  
The looks on their faces made his heart pound against his ribcage with joy and love.  
He loved the sight in front of him.

"Did I make any movies in a particular genre?"  
Joe nodded with crisps in his mouth.  
"Yes," he said, chewing.  
"Would you two sweethearts be allowed to watch my films?"  
"Yep," Joe nodded again, then picked up the crisps again.  
"Comedy?," Martin asked.  
And Joe nodded with a grin.  
"Exactly!"  
Martin bowed his head.  
"Have you two seen my films?"  
Gracie nodded with a smile.  
"Yes, we have."

Martin sighed - male, dead, under 70, actor and comedian, and his children have seen films of this person.  
He sighed again, wondering what films his children have seen. 

"Did I live in England?" he asked, they shook their head. "In Europe?" he asked, and now they nodded. "Am I very famous?" he asked another question, and again they nodded in unison. "Am I only famous in my own country?" the question was asked, but they shook their head. "Have I shown you these films?" he asked his children, who now nodded with a grin.

Martin closed his eyes, sorted the information in his head.  
Which old films had he shown his children?  
It rattled in his head while he could hear the others nibbling. 

His eyes suddenly opened again.  
He grinned broadly.  
"No!? Yes! Ooohh!" He impersonated the person written on his note in a very real way.  
Joe and Gracie laughed heartily, as well as Leila. 

Martin grinned at his children and Leila, loved to hear them laugh.  
"I am Louis de Funes."  
He still grinned widely, saw the others nod - and then he took the note off his forehead.  
Leila grinned to him.  
"If these films ever get a remake, you'd be the absolute perfect cast for him - for example Gendarme Ludovic Cruchot."  
"I'm not sure if that was a compliment, because it really only says that I'm always grumpy and choleric, that nothing really works out even when being grumpy and choleric - and everyone is amused by my grumpy and choleric complains," he grinned.  
Once again he heard the laughter of Joe, Gracie and Leila.

"Well... I just told you, you would be the prefect cast," Leila laughed amused. "Stop it!" She laughed as she was pelted with popcorn. 

Gracie and Joe had a big grin on their face.  
"Now they're going to make out again," Gracie grinned at Joe, who could not say anything because Martin was already interfering.  
"We'll do that later when your batteries are finally low and need to be charged," he grinned and stopped throwing popcorn at Leila.  
Gracie and Joe grinned at him.  
"Maybe they'll get emptier if we play hide and seek in the dark house with flashlights," Joe smirked. "But you two don't hide, or you'll just kiss in your hiding place instead of watching out," he grinned even wider. "Leila, can you search us first?"  
Leila smiled amused.  
"I'll give you five minutes, then I'll start my search for the three of you."  
Gracie and Joe jumped up enthusiastically while Leila turned to the fireplace and put the bowl of chocolates on her lap.

Martin got up slowly but bent down to Leila; he breathed a loving kiss on her hair before grabbing a chocolate.  
Leila smiled into the fire, enjoyed a second kiss in her hair, even heard Martin quietly whisper a gentle little declaration of love - but when she turned around to give him a big smile and similar gentle words, he was already gone. 

For five minutes Leila sat in front of the fireplace, enjoying the warmth and the crackling, enjoying the chocolates and her fast beating heart.  
It made her happy to be with Martin and also to see Joe and Gracie.  
It made her happy to spend the weekend with them and to see Martin as a dad.  
For five minutes she enjoyed the fireplace, the chocolate and her fast heartbeat.

So far, she had enjoyed the weekend a lot; she already felt completely recovered and recharged.  
Slowly she got up, walked to the living room table and grabbed the flashlight Martin had put there after he had been in the kitchen to fill the sundaes.  
Playing hide-and-seek had been great even in her childhood, whether in daylight or in the dark.  
Back then, they had been able to hide quite well – together, they had always had great ideas for their hiding places and most of the times the others had needed a lot of effort to find them; but when they had looked for each other, they had often found each other very quickly since they knew the other well enough to know where they would hide.  
But in the course of the years this had changed - now it was hard to find Martin while playing hide and seek with his children, because he knew how to trick her.  
She knew she would have a hard time finding him, because he would probably change his hiding places without making a sound - the only chance she had was to catch him while he was changing his hiding place.  
She would take care of Joe and Gracie first.

Grinning, she crept through the living room and into the kitchen.

Quietly and cautiously, Martin crept up behind the couch - he had expected her to find him right away, but apparently Leila hadn't expected any of them to hide in the living room.  
Soft-footed he sneaked to the open living room door, he even crept past the passage to the kitchen, which was almost completely dark, because even the soft light of the fireplace could not illuminate it, just the small flashlight with its soft light.

Leila turned around abruptly, had the feeling that something had scurried past her - but the flashlight only shone from the kitchen through the passageway into the living room, without catching anyone with the cone of light.

Quietly and cautiously, Martin crept up the stairs in pitch darkness.  
Silently like a cat he crept up the individual steps, holding his breath almost completely, even leaving out individual spots on the steps very cleverly.  
He was quite good at sneaking - he had already perfected it as a child, after all he had often sneaked out of the house during house arrests to visit Leila secretly. Only once had he been caught trying to escape over the roof of the conservatory facing the street - his mother had left the Chaplin family home in an unfortunate way at that exact moment, had been having a chat with her friend. He had accepted the punishment of one more week of house arrest without a complaint - every evening he had escaped on one way or another, and she hadn’t caught him doing it ever again.  
He was quite good at sneaking, and that was very beneficial to him right now.  
Quietly and thoughtfully, he crept through the house.

It was tingling in him; his heart was beating like crazy, he was nervous and excited, even though he was quite good at sneaking.  
But it wasn't just excitement and nervousness that made his entire body tingle – it was tingling because he wanted to scare Joe and Gracie.  
He just couldn't miss this chance - he was in the mode: cheeky daddy.

He knew Joe and Gracie well enough, guessed that they had hidden together, guessed where they were hiding.  
Actually, they had wanted to watch some Christmas movies to get in the mood for the Christmas season, among these films especially 'Home Alone' - the Christmas movie with the forgotten Kevin McCallister, they had wanted to watch first, and in this movie Kevin hid under his parents' bed because he was afraid.  
He was sure Joe and Gracie were hiding under his bed.

Quietly, he crept to his bedroom - a cheeky and boyish grin on his lips.  
His eyes had become a little accustomed to the darkness - the door to his bedroom was open.  
Quietly and silently, he slipped into the bedroom, which was in complete darkness.

Silently like a cat, he crept through the bedroom - he heard them breathing.  
Sneaking like a lion looking at his prey in front of him, he moved silently and slowly through the room - he could still hear them breathing.

Grinning, he walked around the comfortable bed, on which a bedspread was lying, which almost hung down to the floor.  
Under the bed there was enough room for a few boxes, which were there, but also enough room for two more children who were hiding there right now.  
Smirking and being silent, he crouched down slowly; slowly and grinning, he knelt on the floor; grinning and with a cheeky twinkle in his eyes, he lay down on the floor - silently.

He stretched out his arms and grabbed Joe's right and Gracie's left ankle.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream of the children was loud and panicky, and revealed to Leila the dark hiding place – at least roughly.

Martin let go of their ankles, started laughing heartily and quite cheekily, while his children crawled out from under the bed very quickly on the other side.  
He stood up laughing, even held his stomach.

Joe pulled the bedspread from the bed with a panicky pounding heart, grabbed a pillow and flung it to Martin in the dark - his eyes had also become somewhat accustomed to the dark and could make out the culprit.

"You are so mean!"  
"I hate you, Daddy!" Gracie complained loudly and in a panicky voice. 

And now Leila also knew that Martin was responsible for the scream - she had to grin, she guessed that he had frightened the two of them, and she could now also locate where the culprit and the two poor victims were.

Martin still laughed heartily, gleefully and cheekily. 

Joe ran across the bed, grabbed the pillow, hit Martin with it - and he got help from Gracie, who had walked around the bed with her heart still racing – she pushed her daddy into the bed. 

Together, they pounced on him and suddenly they were in a beam of light - Leila had entered the bedroom.

Leila grinned at the wild mass in the bed.  
Martin lay on his back and laughed incredibly cheekily and boyish – he even giggled.  
Joe sat on him and gently hit him with the pillow.  
Gracie held him down.  
Leila grinned broadly.

Joe raised his head when he sat in the beam of light.  
"He deserves it! He just sneaked up on us and frightened us, that cheeky, sneaky rascal."  
Leila grinned.  
"He can take it," she grinned and knelt down in the bed - her hand ruffled through Martin's hair. "You were in the living room, weren't you?" she still grinned.  
"Yeeesss.", Martin laughed. "Oh, it was such a joy and so much fun," he rejoiced at his impertinent act.  
"You're really stupid, Daddy," Gracie said. "He just grabbed my ankle," she complained to Leila.  
"Mine too," Joe complained, too, but he stopped smacking his dad with the pillow.  
Joe slipped off Martin and knelt down next to him. 

Gracie let go of him too – she let go of her daddy who slowly sat up and knelt down in the bed.

Martin wiped the tears of laughter from his cheeks, then opened his arms.  
"Come here," he breathed gently and hugged his children lovingly and caring. He hugged them firmly, hugged them with lots of protection. "Forgive me. I wanted to scare you a little because you are still so full of energy," he breathed thoughtfully.  
He gave Joe a kiss on the hair, gave Gracie a kiss on the hair.  
The two children cuddled up in the protective and caring hug of their daddy.  
"When I have children, I won’t be this cheeky to them and I won’t play such cruel tricks on them," Joe said.  
Martin smiled, kissing Gracie’s cheek, kissing Joe’s cheek while he was still hugging them protectively and lovingly, caring and gently.  
"That's what I used to think many decades ago. As you can see, I failed," he grinned gently and nursed them back and forth in his loving hug. "It’s all good, okay?" He breathed gently and cuddled them even tighter. "I'm here, it’s all good," he breathed and murmured very gently - and he pressed a kiss on their cheeks and heads while he still cuddled them fatherly.  
He knelt in his bed with his children in his arms.

Leila bowed her head, smiled, and watched Martin hug them warmly and heartily - he cuddled Joe and Gracie very lovingly and gently, very caring and protectively; you could get the impression that nothing could ever happen to them.  
And she could justifiably claim that Martin was a pretty fantastic protector.  
She couldn’t only watch Martin cuddling Joe and Gracie fatherly, but also pressing countless fatherly kisses on their cheeks, on their temples, on their foreheads, on their heads and into their hair.

"I love you very much," she heard the warm fatherly voice.

Obviously, he wasn’t the cheeky daddy anymore, but the daddy who could cuddle and kiss them almost to death. 

Joe and Gracie enjoyed the protective hug, the cuddle, and the many kisses - he had really scared them quite a lot, but now their wild hearts slowly calmed down again.  
He had scared the shit out of them, but as always when he was quite childishly cheeky with them, he gave them an incredible amount of fatherly love and affection to make up for the childishly cheeky prank.  
They had already forgiven him long ago.  
And Joe was pretty sure that his father was right – probably, he would be just as cheeky to his children - after all, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

After countless minutes of cuddling and countless fatherly kisses, they had all fallen into bed.

Martin lay on his side, felt Leila close to him - she had cuddled up against his back, had put her arm around him, her hand had slipped under his sweater, was now lying on his naked stomach; her face lay in his hair at the back of his head.  
Gracie was also lying on her side, turning towards her daddy, cuddling in his hug, her face cuddled in the crook of his neck. She had wrapped her arms around him, she couldn't slide any closer; she felt his body heat and Leila's hand under his sweater, as well as Leila's body cuddling with her daddy.  
Joe was lying on his back, smiling up at the ceiling - he felt Gracie's back against his arm, he felt his father's arm hugging him and Gracie; he had put one hand on his father's arm, held on to it, wanted to make sure his father didn't leave that position for a while. 

He was the only one still lying in bed with his eyes open - the others had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion.  
No wonder, after all, the digital clock would already show 3:32 a.m. without the power cut. 

Joe beamed up to the ceiling - if he would’ve existed even if his father and Leila wouldn’t have split up; if he would’ve existed, too, if Martin had not only been his dad but Leila his mother as well, then he would be much older now, then he would probably have children of his own to whom he could be cheeky. 

He beamed up to the ceiling, felt himself caressing his daddy's forearm - the fright had been quite mean, but he loved it immensely when his daddy was sometimes just excessively cheeky.


	33. Home

_**\- Wednesday, November/27 - 2019, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent -** _

Leila stood in the entrance area of her parents' house, handed Martin the house key of his parents' house.

After breakfast at Martin's place, they had driven to Aldershot, because they had been asked to look after their parents' houses while the owners were on holiday.  
Leila's parents and Philomena had flown to Tenerife together a week ago.  
Laura and Alan had flown to Greece the same day.  
They would be on holiday for another week and so Martin and Leila had been asked if they could have a look at the house. 

Martin and Leila had gladly agreed to take care of the two houses and also to fill up the supplies a little bit while shopping, because not only Leila had a week's holiday at the moment, but also Martin had almost no appointments this week. 

Since Friday evening, Leila was already at Martin's place, had spent the weekend with him, Joe and Gracie, and hadn’t gone home on Sunday, but stayed with Martin - they both had enjoyed the days off very much so far.  
It was not possible for them to spend too much time together. 

Leila had been driving and had parked in front of the house just a few minutes ago. 

Martin took the key, smiled at her, leaned over and breathed a kiss on her lips.  
"See you later," he muttered against her lips.  
Although Leila had a key to her parents' house, Martin didn't have a key to his parents' house, at least not at his home – but Leila's parents were having a spare key.  
"Whoever is done first can join the other." Leila smiled, and gave Martin a kiss too. "And then we can go shopping."  
"Alright." Martin nodded.  
He rubbed her back, exchanged another kiss with her.

They smiled at each other; and Martin winked at her before he left the house and walked across the street.

Leila smiled after him, could still feel his lips on her lips, could feel the tingling in her tummy that his wink had caused.  
She was still standing in front of the door, still standing in front of the closed door, beaming all over her face. 

Martin unlocked the door of his parents' house across the street, could still feel and taste Leila's lips on his lips.  
With a good and pleasant feeling, he entered the house he had grown up in.

In both houses they worked diligently, watering flowers among other things. They took their time, didn’t hurry, and did the work they had been asked to do conscientiously. 

But after an hour, Leila's smartphone played its music.  
Leila walked from the kitchen into the hallway, took the mobile phone from the dresser, saw Martin's charming and radiant smile on the display.  
She accepted the call.

"Hey, baby, why are you calling me?" She smiled and asked.  
"Here's a to-do list for you," Martin smiled in a warm voice. "Well, it's rather a request. It's a list with some repairs."  
"What's on the list?" She asked. "Shall I remount a door once again?" She grinned amused. "Your brother-in-law’s fingers are all thumbs."  
Martin laughed amused.  
"That’s true – his fingers are all thumbs. No, no cupboard door this time. Portable radio in the bathroom, record player and the digital clock on the stove. He asked you very nicely if you could have a look."  
"I'm almost done here; I’ll be with you in a few minutes. I don't know if I can fix any of it, though. Depending on what's broken, I'd need special tools and equipment for electrical testing, and I don't have all that with me."

"Is there anything I can help you with? I'm done since a few minutes. I was just too lazy to come over since we would’ve come back for the repairs anyway," he admitted honestly.  
"Rascal," she grinned with a smile, and heard him laugh. "It's okay, Martin. Stay where you are. I've just made a bit of a mess here - I'll clean it up and then I'll come over."  
"What have you done now?" he grinned broadly.  
"Stop grinning that cheeky!" Leila laughed, even though she couldn't see the cheeky grin. "I've just looked through the fridge again and wanted to get rid of a bucket of yoghurt that was beyond its expiration date - it fell down. You can now eat expired Stracciatella yogurt off the floor."

Martin started to laugh spitefully, gloating and loudly - she could literally see him laughing and holding his belly.  
Leila just grinned amused, hung up and cut off his spiteful laughter.

"Asshole..." she muttered with amusement as she went back to the kitchen.

In the house across the street, Martin was still laughing spitefully and gloating; he had already put his smartphone on the kitchen table and sat down on one of the chairs.  
He had heard that she had simply hung up but was only amused by it.  
He was sure that she had insulted him after hanging up - after all, he knew her for 48 years. 

He leaned back comfortably, calmed down from his fit of laughter.  
He could be quite gloating, but Leila was also a very gloating dork, so he didn't feel bad about his spiteful and gloating laugh - she would have done the same, and she wouldn't have felt bad afterwards either.

Ten minutes later the doorbell rang.

Martin got up, walked through the kitchen, went into the entrance area and opened the front door, full of verve and in a very good mood.  
Leila stood in front of him, looking just as good-humoured. 

Martin grinned cheekily, his eyes sparkled just as childishly and cheekily.  
"So, are you finally done licking all the yoghurt off the floor?" He wiggled his eyebrows provocatively and cheekily.  
Leila took a step towards him, wiggling her eyebrows provocatively and cheekily too. She took his face in both hands and licked her lips lasciviously.  
"All licked up and kissed away," she said with a saucy twinkle in her eyes.  
And then she kissed Martin's lips.

Martin shivered with a disgusted feeling in his body - not because of her kiss.  
He shivered with disgust because he imagined that she was kissing him with lips that had just been smooching yoghurt off the floor in the kitchen, enjoying an expired Stracciatella yoghurt.  
Of course, he knew she hadn't done that, but the idea sent a disgusted shiver down his spine.  
He had to shiver again, tried to push her away, but she didn't give him a chance.  
Her kiss was affectionate and tender, intimate and somewhat passionate - a kiss that would actually cause a strong heartbeat and tingle in the tummy; under normal circumstances.

Leila took pity on him, ended the kiss, grinned cheekily at him and lowered her hands.  
She looked at Martin, who shivered with disgust all over again - he even rubbed the back of his hand over his lips.  
Leila laughed heartily, tapping against his chest.

"That's for your spiteful and gloating laughter, you nasty dork."

Martin lowered his hand, had to grin again, rubbed his hands briefly over his goose bumps covered arms – goose bumps caused by that disgusting idea.

"What did you call me after you hung up?" He asked with a knowing grin.  
"Asshole," she grinned honestly.

Martin laughed and put his hands on her hips. 

"The asshole is a sweetheart again," he winked amused and breathed a kiss on her cheek. "Do you want to go shopping first, or do you want to look at Alan's list?" He asked softly.  
He felt her arms around his neck, feeling her lips gently and innocently on his cheek, kissing him tenderly.  
"I'll check Alan's list first, but I probably can't do much anyway. Dad doesn't have many tools and equipment in his garage, and Alan only has a regular toolbox,... for whatever reason he has it."  
"Alibi toolbox," Martin grinned. "I asked him why he has one,… like a few years ago,… and he said every man would need a toolbox," he grinned.  
"Then I guess you are a hedgehog after all, as your fans always say, because you don't have a toolbox," Leila grinned.  
"Of course, I have one," Martin grinned.  
"Martin, sweetheart,… two different screwdrivers aren't a toolbox."  
He grinned, shrugged his shoulders.  
"Well, then I'm half man and half hedgehog," he grinned amused.  
"No, you are half man, 25 percent hedgehog and 25 percent puppy", Leila grinned and pinched his cheek gently, then kissed his nose.

And Martin rolled his eyes in amusement.

Their little banter ended with Martin rolling his eyes and a gentle kiss.

Leila worked through Alan's list, but there wasn't really much she could do.  
The portable radio probably needed a new circuit board.  
The record player would probably need a new cable as it probably had a loose contact.  
The digital clock on the stove needed an electrical check-up, but Leila didn't have a device for that, at least not here in Aldershot.

With Martin, she had gone to Aldershot; together, they hadn’t immediately gone to the supermarket, but had stopped at a lovely café to eat something.  
They had lunch in a small old café that had been around since their childhood, but the woman, who had already been quite old back then, hadn’t stood behind the counter to serve her soups, sandwiches and stews - but the stew and sandwiches still tasted just as good with the new owner; he had also received the recipe book when he took over the business many years ago.  
They had gone shopping after lunch, had strolled through the supermarket, had worked through the shopping list.  
On the way back from the supermarket, Leila had stopped at another store and provisionally got a new cable for the record player.

And when they had been done with the groceries, Leila had supplied the record player with the new cable - and it had actually worked perfectly again.

At the moment they were sitting in the kitchen of Martin's parents' house. 

They had made some tea, nibbled some cookies, or rather they were just sitting in front of the empty cookie plate and the empty teacups. 

"I'd like to go for a walk," Martin smiled at Leila.  
"Then let's put the dishes away and then we'll go to the park, or did you want to go for a walk somewhere else?" Leila asked.  
"No, no. I wanted to go to the park," he nodded smiling and slowly stood up. 

Leila got up too but couldn't take anything off the table as Martin had already taken everything to the sink. 

She couldn't help him doing the dishes either, as he already did it, but Leila grabbed the dish towel and dried the used cups and plates - she also put them back into the cupboards. 

And just a few minutes later, Leila and Martin were walking down Culverlands Crescent. 

They strolled side by side, strolling down Shawfield Road.  
Side by side, kept warm by their jackets, they strolled along Shawfield Road to the trail that led to Willow Park. 

They breathed in the cold air, warmed by the thick jackets, by the sweaters and the sturdy shoes, by their long trousers. 

It was quiet and silent in Willow Park, the water glittered silently and calmly in the ponds, they seemed to be alone. 

Martin briefly took Leila's hand, wanted to get her attention to come with him instead of turning left.  
Leila intertwined her fingers with Martin's for a moment, turned to the right with him - and then her fingers slipped out of his hand again. 

They smiled at each other.

Martin and Leila strolled next to each other again, strolled along the sand path, strolled along the big pond.  
The cool air tousled through their hair; the cool air caressed their faces as they turned off the sand path at a certain point and into a very small, dense little 'forest'.

Martin led them to an ancient oak tree that looked almost enchanted.

He sat down on a very thick hanging branch and smiled at Leila, who slowly sat down next to him - their feet reached down to the foliage-covered ground.

His left hand rested on Leila's thigh, or rather, he intertwined his fingers with hers that were resting on her thigh.  
He leaned over to her, breathed a kiss on her cheek - they were alone.  
Leila turned her head around, put her other hand on their intertwined hands, kissed his lips softly.

They exchanged a gentle kiss, then nudged their noses. 

Martin winked, then turned his head around again, leaning his temple against Leila's head, who had also turned her head around.

"Are you alright?" Leila asked thoughtfully and worriedly, after all they were sitting on the tree that Martin's father had shown them in the first place; after all they were sitting on the tree where she had found Martin, after he had run away after the news of his father’s death.  
"I'm fine," he breathed and caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. "I just wanted to come here. I'm fine, I really am. I just... I miss him. But you've not only comforted me here after the terrible news, we've had some great adventures here - me with Dad, the two of us,... the two of us with Dad."  
Leila squeezed his hand.  
"That's true, we've had some great and lovely adventures here, together and with your dad," she breathed. "And I miss him, too. He was amazing."  
"He was. It's a pity that some small, beautiful memories are fading - whether they are memories with Dad, or memories we've collected with other people. It's a shame that you forget the good little memories."  
"I always think that's a pity, too. You experience them almost every day - some memories come back when you look at pictures, but many of the very small beautiful experiences and memories fade after a short time."

Martin squeezed her hand, nodded slightly.

"I'm scared that I won't see Joe and Gracie growing up," he murmured honestly.  
"Do you often worry about that?" She asked alarmed and took his honest statement very seriously.  
"Sometimes, nothing to worry about," he reassured her in a warm voice. "Sometimes I'm afraid of... I just don't want to leave them alone. I want to see and greet them for tea someday when they're as old as I am now. Even if it's kind of a scary thought."  
"I can understand why you're afraid of this sometimes - I think it's natural, even if your father hadn't died at a young age. Just,… Martin,… please let me know if you're afraid of it too often," she breathed softly and pleading. 

Martin nodded slightly, had a good feeling inside him, felt warmth rushing through his body - it was nice that she took his fear seriously, that she was worried about him, that she wanted him to feel well and alright with his fears and the many thoughts he was always having.

Leila squeezed his hand, turned her head back to him and breathed a kiss on his cheek.  
She wanted to distract him a bit from his fears, felt that he didn't want to talk about it anymore, that he had said what had been on his mind.

"I've always enjoyed your father-son relationship. He was great with all his children, but you two just had a very special relationship with each other," she smiled with a radiant voice. "And that special bond is back now - I see it between you and Joe. I know you love them both so much that you can't describe it with words; but the relationship between you and Joe reminds me a lot of the relationship between you and your dad - it was somehow magical and special, different, but not less loving towards his other kids.

Martin turned his head around, tilted it.

"Really?"  
"Yes. You two remind me incredibly of your father and you. And I think that's pretty nice," she smiled. "But I also love your daddy-daughter relationship with Gracie," she beamed. "Those two, they love you very much. And I think it's very nice that they not only got to know Grandpa James, but also Grandpa Geoffrey – due to pictures. And I think it's great that you tell them stories about him too, even if some of them have already faded."  
Martin smiled flattered.  
"Thanks for the kind words," he breathed. 

Leila raised her left hand, turned a little more towards him, caressed his grey hair, stretched her head and kissed his temple.

Martin closed his eyes, enjoying her presence, her closeness, her kiss and her scent; he enjoyed the smell in the little forest by the ancient oak; he enjoyed sitting here with Leila and not only feeling her close to him but also his father.


	34. Cockpit

_**\- Thursday, November/21 - 2019, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Home of the Chaplin Family -** _

Martin leaned forward, placed two empty wine glasses on the coffee table, gently patted Leila's thigh, then rubbed gently over it. 

After they had taken care of the two houses without any hurry and after they had also gone for a walk, Martin and Leila had made themselves comfortable in the house of Leila's parents.  
They had cooked, had eaten very comfortably, and then they had gotten lazy on the couch in the living room.  
They had wanted to spend the evening on the couch after dinner - they had wanted to watch a movie, but they hadn't watched it at all, because they had gotten lost in a conversation and had enjoyed a bottle of wine.  
The chatting had distracted them from the telly program very well since they always found a topic they could chat about for hours, which they could get upset or laugh about together, which they could discuss.  
Tonight, they had told each other old stories – they had laughed, grinned, smiled and raved about these stories.  
It was always nice to talk about old stories and to tell each other some anecdotes.

Martin turned his head to Leila, smiled at her, rubbed her thigh again.  
"Shall we go to bed?" He asked - it was just after midnight.  
His eyes looked at her questioningly - he didn't look like he was about to fall asleep, but he looked exhausted, and he could see exhaustion and some tiredness in Leila's eyes, too.

The fireplace had gone out during their chatting, the fire didn't burn any more, the fire didn't warm them anymore - only the light from the floor lamp standing next to the couch still gave them light. 

Leila raised her hand, put it on Martin's back, rubbed gently across the sweater.  
"It may be crazy, but I'd like to spend the night in the tree house," she smiled.  
Her hand reached up to Martin's neck, caressing it gently with her fingers.  
Martin bowed his head, enjoying the gentle caress of Leila's fingertips.  
"You want to spend the night in the tree house? It's freezing cold outside," he said and looked back at Leila.  
"If we cuddle close together, we’ll get warm," she smiled. "And I know another trick that'll make us all warm - … and hot," she flirted with him.  
Martin looked at her, bowed his head, bit his lower lip, looked at her with blue eyes - his heart was beating faster; he felt the blood wander into the lower part of his body.  
"Okay,... we'll sleep in the tree house," he whispered in a warm and seductive voice.  
Leila's hand tousled across Martin's hair at the back of his head - she bent over, smiled seductively, breathed a delightful kiss on his lips. 

Martin returned her kiss, purred into the kiss.  
He turned to her a little more, raised his hands, laid them on Leila's cheeks - but Leila pulled back, released the seductive and delightful kiss teasingly.  
Martin sighed, opened his eyes, looked at her with dreamy blue eyes - he literally made sheep’s eyes at her.

Leila winked.  
"Come on, let's go," she smiled. "So, we can get our bed comfortably warm for tonight, ... or even erotically hot," she purred against his lips.  
"Yes... ", Martin purred - he nodded slightly.  
Leila gently bit his lower lip, then separated from him completely.

She slipped to the side, stood up, held her hand down. 

Martin turned to her, looked up, put his hand in hers and let her help him up.  
His eyes watched her, looked at her very closely as she led him through the living room.  
He followed her by the hand, felt his heart beating fast, felt his tummy tingle, felt the lust and arousal in his body.  
Well-behaved, he slipped into his shoes when they came to a halt in the hallway – she was still holding his hand.  
He didn't speak a word, didn't hear her say anything either - he only heard the murmur in his ears, triggered by the strong, lustful and amorous beating of his heart.  
He followed her by the hand again – followed her through the hallway, followed her through the living room.  
Well-behaved he followed her by the hand, out into the garden - his heart raced faster, his belly was tingling even more, the lust and arousal in his body grew.  
Martin's eyes watched Leila's butt as they climbed the spiral staircase up to the tree house. 

He licked his lips; his hand was still held.  
He bit his lips, licked his lips again, almost stumbled, as he only had eyes for Leila's firm and luscious butt in her sweatpants. 

Leila turned her head around briefly, smiling seductively and flirting.  
"You better watch your step instead of just staring at my bum," she winked cheekily and flirtatious.  
Her gaze glided across his nose, across his lips, across his chest, down to his belly and to the very clear indication that he was already extremely aroused - she licked her lips seductively and teasingly; not only because she loved what she saw, but also to tease Martin with it.  
When she looked at his face again, she saw him swallow hard. 

She turned around, grinned, and walked up the last steps of the spiral staircase. 

Martin's heart throbbed hard against his ribcage. He entered the tree house with her, let himself be led through the tree house, let himself be led to the cockpit, felt his hand slipping out of hers - she slipped out of her shoes, he slipped out of his shoes.

You could see their breath in the cold air.

Just like all these years ago, just like on their last visit, blankets and pillows were ready for comfort and warmth. 

Leila sank onto the new mattress, which was much thicker than when she was a teenager; she sank onto the thickly covered blanket, whose bedding was warm cotton - but even through the sweatpants she felt the cool bedding; no wonder, the tree house was not heated.  
She smiled up to Martin, knelt on the blanket and mattress, leaned forward and kissed the erection that was clearly visible in the sweatpants - she breathed warm air against it.  
She could literally hear Martin's heavy swallowing; she could clearly hear Martin's purring and sighing.  
Again, she breathed a kiss on the erection, again she breathed warm air against it.  
The moaning was deep and lustful.

She felt his hands in her hair, tentatively and gently.  
She felt his hands softly in her hair - he didn't force her closer, had only buried his hands in her hair, enjoyed what he got without asking for more. 

He got more anyway - she knew that he liked blow jobs, that he loved them, but she also knew that he never forced her to do it dominantly, not today and not back then; but he got what he longed for from her anyway, he didn't need dominance for that. 

She pushed down his sweatpants, breathed a kiss on the boxer briefs before pulling them down as well.  
Gently, she let her tongue run over his glans - the moaning was loud and deep.  
Her tongue gently licked along his erection.  
Her lips kissed gently along the thick shaft.  
Her tongue licked over his glans again, licking away the first drops of pleasure.  
Her lips opened and were wrapped around the sensitive head.  
Gently, she swallowed down his erection balls deep - the moaning was rough, still loud and lustful.  
She enjoyed giving him blowjobs and bringing him pleasure; she gently placed her hands on his butt, enjoying the taste of his cock, enjoying the feeling of his cock and his luscious bum.

Martin put his head back, moaned with a rough voice, loudly and lustfully, full of pleasure and arousal.  
His hands gently caressed through her hair.  
"Fuck!" he groaned lustfully.  
His thighs were already shaking a little bit - the arousal was huge and intense.  
He loved Leila's blowjobs, loved to have sex with Leila, no matter in which way - that hadn't changed in all these years.  
And something else had not changed in all these years - he just got what he loved and craved from Leila, with her he could enjoy all the things he longed for.  
With Leila subliminal dominance was enough; he didn't have to do more than being present to radiate enough dominance and to get what he wanted - not that he forced her to do anything, this subliminal dominance just wordlessly ordered her to do what she wanted to experience with him.  
"Fuck,... Leila," he moaned - her lips, her tongue, her gently nibbling teeth felt fantastic; much too fantastic.  
He felt the soft knees, felt the orgasm almost rushing through his body.

His cock slipped out of her warm and wet mouth.  
She kissed the tip of his cock, licked away more pre-cum.  
She looked up, licked her lips flirtatiously, smiled seductively and charmingly at him. 

Martin stepped out of his boxer brief and sweatpants, felt the cold air on his bare legs since a while now.  
He sank to his knees, sank onto the mattress, still holding her face in his hands.  
Gently, his hands caressed down her arms.  
He grabbed the black sweater, pushed it up - she raised her arms.  
Quickly, he pulled the sweater over her head - he grabbed his own grey sweater, pulled it over his head as well as the T-Shirt he was wearing - both clothes were thrown away, they landed somewhere on the huge and comfy mattress.  
He looked at her, licked his lips - he had wanted to take off her T-shirt, but she had already done the work for him.  
His hands grabbed her face again, the lips captured hers; he kissed her deeply and intensively.

Leila's hands ran into Martin's hair, grabbed them gently, enjoyed the intimate and intense kiss and Martin's hands caressing from her cheeks into her hair; she enjoyed his soft and gentle caressing as his hand was running through her hair – to the back of her head, onto her neck and back to her bra clasp.  
She purred into his kiss.  
He opened her bra, brushed it off her shoulders.  
She sighed as his left hand gently caressed down her body, while the right hand gently but intensely massaged her left bosom, rubbing her nipple with his thumb.  
She moaned as the left hand slipped into her sweatpants and panties, as the nimble and talented fingers began their play.  
Goose bumps spread over her body - everywhere.  
His kiss tasted fantastic; she purred into it – melted away under his kiss.  
His hands felt breathtaking; she sighed and groaned – melted away under his talented play.  
Leila grabbed Martin's hair, caressing through it, playing with the strands; her hands rubbed down his back, grabbing his firm and luscious naked butt.

Gently, Martin pressed the love of his youth down on the mattress, but he didn’t end his intimate and delightful kiss for a second.  
He just ended the kiss as she lay comfortably on the mattress.  
Quite innocently, he breathed a kiss on her nose, winked at her, caused her to experience a wild and intense tingling and a strong and fast beating heart, that leapt into her throat.  
She looked at him, licked her lips, followed every movement with her eyes as he took off her trousers and panties.

The cold air caressed her, but powered by their lust and arousal for each other, they only felt warmth, lust, arousal and their heated bodies.

Martin wiped her panties and sweatpants to the side; he didn't have to say anything, didn't have to give her a hint by a single touch, she tucked her legs up wordlessly, spread them for him.  
He bent down, felt her hands in his hair even before he could place the first kiss.  
Talented, gentle and tender, but also very teasing and charming, his tongue played skilfully; talented, soft and loving, but also very intimate and seductive, his lips kissed her most intimate erogenous zone.  
He licked, sucked, kissed, played, teased and seduced.  
And he heard her moan and purr, sigh and groan.  
And he felt her melt away even more.

Leila grabbed his grey hair and arched her back.  
Her thighs trembled, her heart was racing fast, her belly was tingling strongly, her whole body was tingling strongly – she was massively aroused and felt full of pleasure.

"Martin... ", she purred with a begging voice when she couldn’t feel his lips any longer, even though she had been close to a massive orgasm – so damn close.

She felt the lips and the beard on her flat belly - this beard had already felt fantastic on her most intimate erogenous zone.  
She felt the lips and the beard on her breasts, on her nipples, on her décolleté and neck.  
She felt the lips and beard on her jaw, cheek and ear.

"I love you, Leila." he whispered with arousal and deep love. "You wanted to seduce me, but I'm much more in the mood for making love to you right now, as gently as all these years ago, ...do you remember that? Our first night?"

Without being erotically touched by him, Leila's body trembled and shivered through her orgasm; the beard, his whispering warm voice, these words and the memory of their first night had sent the orgasm through her body – with lots of shivers, with lots of moans, with lots of purrs and lots of tingles and tickles. 

"I think you can remember our first night," he whispered cheekily and bit her ear teasingly. "Or did my words, my voice and my beard make your squirt without being touched?", he whispered cheekily and very charmingly.

He felt that intense orgasm, felt her heavy heartbeat, heard her swallow. 

"May I make you all hot and tingly again? May I make you orgasm all over again?” He asked in an innocent warm and charming voice.

Leila swallowed hard again, wrapped her arms around him, looking for support.  
His beard, his voice and his words definitely had too much power - but she would complain bitterly if this would change one day.  
She cuddled her cheek against his, hugged him lovingly and longingly – and she nodded.

"You may do this... " she breathed dreamily. "And... Martin... ", she murmured in his ear. "I love you, too."

Martin smiled, cuddled her, snuggled up to her. 

Softly, the tip of his cock nudged at her cunt.  
Slowly, his cock slid in as he bit her ear gently and with pleasure - as he moaned with her.  
Gently, he kissed the bitten spot, let his nose rub across her ear before the lips kissed her cheek.

The lips caressed delicately over the corners of her mouth, the lips captured hers.

Gently, their lips merged into a loving and gentle, amorously and dreamy kiss.  
They found a harmonious rhythm, enjoyed the intimate togetherness, enjoyed each other and the intense closeness.

Martin loved to love her, loved to make love with her, loved to be very tender and gentle with her – he enjoyed every single little feeling, and just savoured every single little touch.  
It was breathtaking to feel her naked body, her heated soft and tender skin.  
His body was tingling from head to toe - he had never enjoyed sex more than with Leila. 

"Leila,... honey... " he purred into the kiss.

He loosened his lips.  
He sucked in the air - deep and sharp.  
He sucked in the air - deep into his lungs.  
He cuddled his cheek against hers, rubbing his beard over her soft and tender skin. 

Leila shivered with pleasure.  
Goose bumps spread all over her body.

"Your beard will kill me one day," she purred her compliment. 

Martin let the three-day beard rub and caress her cheek even more intensely, his loving and tender thrusts also became more intense and intimate.

"Let's agree to keep you alive so that you can enjoy it for many more years to come," he purred and pushed one arm under her neck, snuggled up even closer.  
"Alright... " she sighed. "Ooohhh gosh, Martin!... Baby... ", she purred and groaned, now wrapping her legs around his hips.

The gentle lovemaking and harmonic rhythm brought them closer and closer to their orgasm - as well as the rubbing of Martin's beard, the crawling of Leila's fingers, their kisses and pecks, the tender and intimate smooching, the loving compliments, and the constant murmuring of declarations of love.

Together they drifted closer to the climax.

Closer - more intense, more intimate.  
Closer - more loving and tender.  
Closer, closer, closer...

Leila wrapped her arms tightly around Martin's neck; she wrapped her legs tightly around Martin's hips.  
Martin snuggled up to her as close as possible, wrapped his arm around her even more, cuddled his breaded cheek more against hers.

The trembling and shivering bodies enjoyed the orgasm, the voices whispered their pleasure into the ear of the other.  
They enjoyed their orgasm, they held each other; they even cuddled for several minutes when the climax had already ebbed away. 

Martin followed Leila with his eyes, watched her walking through the tree house – as naked and beautiful as she was. He watched her walking through their tree house and pulling an additional warm outdoor fleece blanket out of a box.  
His eyes were beaming and shining to her, looking at her, looking at her beautiful and naked body.  
He couldn't wait to spend the night with Leila; right here in the tree house, right here after making love to each other - and the blanket, the outdoor fleece blanket, their still heated bodies and their intimate cuddling and snuggling would certainly keep them very warm for the rest of the night.


	35. Photographs from Bygone Times and a Snapshot

_**\- Thursday, November/21 - 2019, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Home of the Chaplin Family, Tree House -** _

Snuggling intimately, Martin and Leila were still lying under the outdoor fleece blanket and the thick winter duvet. 

They had fallen asleep a few hours ago.  
They woke up a few minutes ago. 

They smiled at each other, exchanged little kisses over and over again while they slowly drifted from their sleepy state into wakefulness. 

Leila slid closer, put her lips on Martin's, kissed him tenderly and lovingly, kissed him softly and intimately.  
She pressed him into the mattress, rolled onto him, supported herself with her hands next to his head.  
She felt his warm naked body against her bare skin.  
Her tongue gently caressed his lower lip – she seduced him into a deep French kiss, which he joined with a sigh.  
She felt his warm hands on her naked skin - the warm hands gently caressed her butt, up her back, gently over her shoulder blades, on her neck and into her red hair.  
Leila sighed and purred into the French kiss. 

She snuggled up to his warm naked body; she loved every millimetre she could feel with her bare skin.  
Her tongue licked across his lip again, her lips kissed him sweetly and innocently.  
Her lips breathed a kiss on his nose.  
She smiled and rubbed her nose across his tip of the nose. 

"Morning, baby," she whispered and kissed his nose again - they hadn't exchanged a good morning greeting yet, even though they had been awake sleepily for a few minutes.  
"Morning, honey," Martin purred and his hands slid out of her hair - onto her shoulder blades.  
"I love to sleep with you up here in the tree house," she winked ambiguously.  
"I love it very much, too," he winked.  
"Are you thinking about harmless sleeping or sex?" Leila grinned.  
"The same thing you were thinking about when you winked at me ambiguously. But the other thing is also very beautiful – I love to sleep in next to you, and I love to wake up next to you," he winked charmingly and sugary sweet.

They have had sex in the tree house quite often, because up here the chance of being caught while having sex had been very little. 

Martin's fingertips caressed over Leila's shoulder blade; the blue eyes smiled.  
"Did you sleep well?"  
"Very well indeed. And you?" she smiled and gave him another kiss on the nose.  
"Very well," he smiled, and his fingertips crawled down her back.  
His fingertips crawled down her back, crawling gently across her buttocks, before caressing her back again, tenderly and tickling. 

He pursed his lips, got the desired kiss. 

Martin smiled, rolled across the large mattress with her until he lay on top of her. He supported himself with his hands next to her head, bent down, kissed her temple very intimately and tenderly.  
"It's getting a little chilly now - all naked."  
"Hmm, I have to agree," she nodded slightly and enjoyed a very tender and intimate kiss on her cheek.  
He tenderly breathed another intimate kiss on her forehead. 

He sat up, slipped out of the blankets and the warmth, grabbed her T-shirt and her black sweater and handed it to her.  
His hands collected her panties and sweatpants and put them within reach.  
He got a grateful smile.  
He stood up as naked as he was and collected his own clothes.  
He slipped into the boxer briefs, slipped into the T-shirt, into the grey sweater and into the sweatpants before he run his hand through the grey tousled hair. 

Martin stretched himself luxuriously, rubbed his eyes, yawned briefly, but then he crossed the tree house and knelt down on the floor at a very specific spot.

Leila bowed her head, looked at him, had dressed up too, but covered herself with the warm outdoor fleece blanket and the winter duvet.  
"What are you doing, Martin?" She asked, enjoying the warmth under the blankets.  
"Picking up some photos," the warm voice smiled as his hand pulled a box out of the old secret hiding place - he opened it and randomly grabbed a few photos.  
Leila smiled with a beam, watched him coming back, smiled up to him and even lifted the blanket when he stood in front of the mattress.

Martin knelt down, crawled over the mattress, slipped under the blanked and leaned back against the wooden side wall of the cockpit – he was sitting next to Leila.  
He turned his head towards her, laid the photos on his lap and breathed a kiss on her temple.  
Leila closed her eyes, enjoyed his kiss, loved these little attentive kisses of him.  
She turned her head towards him after the kiss, smiling.

"That's a nice idea."

Her secret hiding place hadn’t been discovered yet, but it had been there for around 41 years by now, actually almost as long as the tree house itself existed, because shortly after it had been finished, they had made this secret hiding place.  
In the secret hiding place there was actually only one box, but in this box there were a few old mementos and many old pictures - from the time of their friendship and especially from the time of their romantic relationship. 

Martin had reached into it indiscriminately, not knowing which photos were now here on his lap, but they would find out together.

They both turned their heads to the photos. 

Martin lifted the first one, smiled and beamed at it with Leila since it showed him and Leila on a hammock on vacation; they had been sweet 6 years old back then - they were lounging in the hammock, clearly sleeping; they looked very peaceful.  
One of the next photos showed them bathing at the lake when they had been 12 years old. 

Slowly, they looked through the photos, telling each other little stories as soon as they remembered something about the photo they were looking at.  
And Martin was not the only one who enjoyed looking at these old photos, Leila also enjoyed it very much and looked at the photos with a smile and beam.  
In general, they both loved it very much to look at old pictures and photos. 

The old photos showed the depth and intimacy of their intense friendship.  
The old photos showed the depth and intimacy of their intense love.

"You’ve been really sweet and cute," Leila smiled.  
"You’ve been pretty sweet and cute too," Martin smiled and put another photo aside. 

The two pairs of eyes looked at a photo that showed Martin and Leila here in the garden; the two 14-year-olds were sitting in the grass, the sun was shining down on them as they were beaming right into the camera lens. 

Leila pointed to the 14-year-old Martin.

"I was already totally in love with you at this point," Leila smiled. "It was my father who took this photo ... the day after we went on holiday." she was still smiling.  
"I was already madly in love with you at this point too," he beamed. "And you're right, it must have been the day before the summer vacation," he nodded. 

Leila pointed again to the 14-year-old Martin, who beamed charmingly and very sweetly into the camera lens.

"There you look like the perfect mixture of Gracie and Joe."  
Martin tilted his head, looking at his own 14-year-old face.  
"That's true, I look like Gracie and Joe," he nodded.  
"You absolutely can’t deny that these two sweethearts are yours."  
"Also true," Martin smiled. 

He put the photo aside, continued to look through all the photographs he had grabbed from the box in the secret hiding place.  
It was wonderful to look at these photos; it was wonderful to see the young Leila, to reminisce with the older Leila, and to recognise his children very clearly in himself.  
It was wonderful to take a little walk down memory lane.

Only two photos were still in Martin's lap.  
He turned his head to Leila, breathed a kiss on her cheek, then cuddled the head back against hers.  
The blankets still warmed them; it was still cosy in the tree house.  
Leila's right leg lay over Martin's left leg, she snuggled up to her best friend and partner. 

"Awww, look at this," Martin said dreamily. "This is the first photo taken in this tree house. Jesus Christ, we’ve been seven years old when the picture was taken... ", he murmured. "And look, ... we were sitting on the exact same spot," he pointed to the photo where you could clearly see a very distinctive mark on the wall behind them - only in this photo their heads were far away from it. 

Leila's eyes sparkled and beamed.

"You're right," she rejoiced. "Mum took the photo. She took it in the morning, after our very first night in this tree house," she beamed. "It's crazy; that first night was such a long time ago."

Martin nodded, put the photo aside and revealed the last photograph - his eyes lit up and Leila's eyes lit up even more.  
On the photo they were sitting at the same spot again, which was clearly shown by the distinctive mark in the wood - the heads were much closer to this mark this time since they were 16 years old in the photograph.  
In the photo Leila beamed into the camera, had also taken the picture with the Polaroid camera, while enjoying a kiss on her cheek by Martin.

That there was more than pure friendship could be seen very clearly; one could recognise it by the way Martin kissed her enthusiastically, lovestruck and amorously on the cheek; one could recognise it by the dreamy, lovestruck and amorously beam in Leila's eyes; one could recognise it by the big smile of Leila that showed very clearly that she was on cloud 9.

Leila beamed and turned her head to Martin.

"We absolutely have to re-enact this photo - since we are already sitting in the same spot, since we are on cloud nine again."  
"But this time I'll get the kiss," Martin beamed.

Leila smiled and nodded.  
She pulled her smartphone out of her sweatpants, unlocked it for Martin and handed it to him.  
Martin opened the camera while Leila wrapped her arms around Martin's neck since Martin had wrapped his arms around her neck in the photograph. 

Martin stretched out his arm, felt Leila's lips on his cheek, felt the euphoric, lovestruck and amorous kiss and just beamed into the camera when he took the Selfie – he beamed dreamily, lovestruck, amorously. 

Leila beamed at the photo in her smartphone - their heads were almost touching the distinctive mark in the wood behind them.

"That's such a cute photo," she smiled.  
"Yes, that's a lovely selfie."  
"I’m sure your fans would especially love these two old photos. They're always really happy to see older photos of you."  
"Well, then just post them." Martin smiled calmly.

Leila stared at him.

"Sorry?"  
"Well, if they'd be happy ... and you sound like you'd like to post those cute photos of us, then just post them," he smiled. Leila still stared at him, pinched him gently. "Ow! Why are you pinching me?" He asked.  
"I just wanted to see if it really is you."  
"Why do you have to see if it really is me???" He asked, completely irritated, rubbing the spot she'd pinched.  
"Why?! Because YOU just told me I’m allowed to post PRIVATE photos on SOCIAL MEDIA. And you ask me why I had to check if you are the real Martin Freeman?"

Martin had to laugh.

"Okay, okay - I get it," he winked. "It's really quite simple, isn't it? You care about me a lot and you love me. And I care about you very much and I love you too. Even though I still don't regret that we split up back then, I still have the feeling that I missed something or someone all these years. And when our love comeback happened, I realised that I missed you very much in all these years – you were missing as my partner in my life. You told me you were waiting for me and that it is my decision if and when, how and where I would like to share our sweet secret with the public," he said softly. "I love you very much, Leila - and I would like to enjoy this love comeback to the fullest. This is our second chance, and I don't want to waste a single second of it with you," he smiled. "Why don't you just post these pictures... they're lovely photographs that are showing something very beautiful." 

Leila tilted her head, blinked a few times, then beamed at him, caressing his grey hair gently - she was definitely ready, and if he was ready too, she would be very happy to share her happiness with the whole world. 

"Sure? Are you sure, Martin?" She asked softly. "I mean, I'm happy about it, very happy indeed. Because you are very important to me and I also love you with everything I have. But I want you to be sure and to feel comfortable with it."  
Martin looked deep into her eyes.  
"I'm very sure, Leila," he breathed. "I'd like to show that I'm very happy right now, I’d like to show with whom I'm happy and who it is that makes me so happy. I just want to enjoy our love; I don’t want to hold back a kiss in the street that I would actually like to give you - I want to enjoy it with you as much as we enjoyed it back then," he smiled softly. "For example, making out in public with the love of my youth," he winked.

They smiled at each other - Leila's hand caressed through Martin's hair again.

Leila had taken two photographs of the old Polaroid photos.

She opened Twitter and uploaded the first photo.

The first photo showed two 7-years-old children beaming into the camera.  
Martin was beaming with blue eyes, blond hair and a 70s T-shirt - he was definitely recognisable.  
Leila was sitting next to him, beaming into the camera with turquoise eyes and red hair, wearing a 70s T-shirt herself.  
They had pressed their cheeks together, had put their arms around each other's shoulders - even the blanket under which they had slept could be seen.  
A very distinctive wooden mark was visible far above their heads.

Leila loaded the second picture into the same Tweet.

The second photo showed two 16-year-old teenagers - it looked like a selfie.  
Leila beamed into the camera with turquoise eyes and red hair.  
Martin was very clearly recognisable with his blond hair and closed eyes - he breathed a very loving and amorous kiss on Leila's cheek while he wrapped his arms around her neck.  
A little above their heads there was a very prominent spot in the wood.  
The kind of kiss, the kind of closeness, the kind of Leila's radiance showed without any doubt that the two youngsters were on cloud nine - totally in love, infatuated and soppy on each other.

Leila loaded the third and last picture into the Tweet. 

The third photo showed two 48-year-old adults - it was not a Polaroid, but a smartphone Selfie.  
Martin beamed into the camera lens with grey tousled hair, blue eyes and a three-day beard.  
Leila had wrapped her arms around Martin’s neck; her red hair was tied into a loose bun - she gave Martin a very loving and amorous kiss on the cheek.  
Shortly above their heads one could see the mark in the wood.  
The kind of kiss, the kind of closeness, the kind of Martin's radiance showed without any doubt that the two adults were on cloud 9 - totally in love, infatuated and soppy on each other.

Leila typed a text for the tweet, looked once more at Martin, who nodded with a smile and beam.

She tweeted her Tweet with photos and a text.

**From friends to lovers from lovers to friends, from friends to lovers until the end. <3**


	36. From Friends to Lovers from Lovers to Friends, from Friends to Lovers until the End. <3

_**\- November, 2019, all over the world -** _

Martin Freeman fans scrolled unsuspectingly through their Twitter timeline - all over the world; just after waking up, at breakfast, on the way to work and school; at lunch, strolling, at work and at school; after jogging, at the gym, shopping, standing in queue; while cooking, lounging on the couch, sick in bed, watching telly; after dinner, already in bed, at a party, not able to sleep, not wanting to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night.   
Cluelessly, they scrolled through the timeline of their Twitter account - all over the world; some of them would remain clueless for some time, others had their hearts leap into their throat while their eyes stared, and their mouths opened stunned.

Fans all over the world who followed Leila's account and were currently active on the Twitter app stared stunned at a tweet that contained not only a very obvious text, but also three impressive and, most importantly, photos they had never seen before.

The small profile picture of the account showed a woman with red hair; she showed her back to the camera, swirling herself through her hair so that the red hair learned to fly impressively; she wore a white, partially transparent beach dress, underneath a turquoise swimsuit that you could hardly see; she showed her back to the camera, gazing at the beach and the sea that glittered softly in the beginning sunset. 

  
**Ginge <3 @LeilaVChaplin**

From friends to lovers,  
from lovers to friends,  
from friends to lovers  
until the end. <3

#1979 #1988 #2019

Photo number one from 1979 presented itself as a clearly re-photographed Polaroid photo - and it depicted not only the 7-year-old account holder, but also the 7-year-old Martin Freeman.   
Even though the Polaroid photo was only re-photographed, Martin Freeman and his bright blue eyes were clearly visible, as well as the blond hair and a T-shirt that was clearly from the 70s.   
The 7-year-old Martin Freeman pressed his cheek against the cheek of the girl sitting next to him; he had also put his arm around her shoulder, but was also very warmly cuddled by her while he was still looking a bit sleepy, but quite happy and satisfied – his sweet and already very charming smile sparkled into the camera.   
His facial expression showed clearly that he was feeling very well at the moment and that he couldn’t imagine a better place to be right now, that he couldn’t imagine that there was a place that was more beautiful than where he was at the moment. 

Photo number two from 1988 also presented itself as a clearly re-photographed Polaroid photo and showed not only the 16-year-old account holder, but also the 16-year-old Martin Freeman.  
While the first photo clearly showed that Martin and the red-haired girl had been photographed, the second photo looked more like a selfie.   
Even though Martin did not look into the camera at all in the Polaroid Selfie, but could only be seen in profile, he was very clearly recognisable - his profile had hardly changed in the last few years.   
The 16-year-old Martin Freeman, who could be seen on the Selfie with his button nose and blond fluffy hair, pressed a kiss on the cheek of the girl next to him, quite amorously and lovestruck. But 16-year-old Martin Freeman not only pressed a kiss on the cheek of the girl lovestruck and amorously, he also had his arms possessively and euphorically wrapped around her neck.  
The very way in which a teenage Martin Freeman had wrapped his arms around a girl and kissed her showed very clearly that he was on cloud nine - but the radiance of the red-haired girl also showed very clearly that not only was she very much in love, but that the two young people were on cloud nine together.

Photo number three from 2019 presented itself as a modern selfie - and unmistakably showed the two people who had also been depicted in the previous photos; Martin Freeman and the account holder.   
With grey tousled hair that stood in all directions, blue eyes and a three-day beard, 48-year-old Martin Freeman sparkled and beamed directly into the camera lens - and thus directly into the eyes of the fans who were now looking at this photo. 

Martin Freeman was beaming lovestruck and amorously into the camera - the expression on his face not only showed that he was quite in love, infatuated, soppy on the woman next to him and just on cloud nine with a tingling tummy and soft knees, the expression also showed that he could not imagine that there was a place that was more beautiful than where he was right now.   
The 48-year-old Martin Freeman was beaming so much that it gave the staring fans a tingling in their tummies.  
In the third photo, Martin Freeman enjoyed a very loving and hearty kiss on his cheek while being warmly cuddled.  
This photo showed without any doubt that they were not just in love, infatuated and soppy on each other or on cloud nine, but it also showed very clearly that they were just as much in love, infatuated, soppy on each other and on cloud nine as they were in 1988. 

  
In no time at all, even the previously unsuspecting but currently active fans were no longer unaware of the retweets.  
In no time at all, the tweet multiplied.  
In no time at all, the tweet received extremely many likes.  
In no time at all, the comments reached a very high number.  
In no time at all, the photos with the loving text and a reference to Leila were published on Instagram.   
In no time at all, the press was already working on an article due to the tweet.

The likes, retweets and comments not only reached a high number on Twitter but also on Instagram - and with that the number of new followers of Leila's account suddenly went through the roof. 

But not only on Twitter and Instagram the comments, retweets and likes were inundated; not only the gossip press threw themselves on the tweet and wrote a diligent article, also the 'We<3Martin' WhatsApp group chat was glowing and running at full speed, while the five friends on Twitter didn't mention anything about their previous knowledge, but had already brought up the name Marley Chapman.

  
\--------Chat----------------  
 **Giulia:** OMG! This is sweeter than my breakfast! 

**Cathy:** Leila!! Oh God! Here I am cluelessly scrolling through the timeline before I wanted to get up just to find out that you listened to us! 

**Giulia:** Cathy! OMG did you see how much Martin is beaming in the picture? It’s super sweet and adorable! Gosh, he’s so in love! I am sure there is no one in the world who is more in love right now than Martin.

**Cathy:** <3 YES! This is the cutest couple selfie ever! But apart from that, he was fucking cute as a teenager and as a kid too! 

**Giulia:** Absolutely! But this current selfie still tops the other two. <3 This tousled hair <3 a dream. Leila! Answer!

**Ruby:** JESUS CHRIST! I wanted to go to sleep, but now I'm wide awake again! How sweet and hot is that!? I would die if Martin would be so crazy in love with me. 

**Giulia:** <3 He has never looked so damn happy in any photo as in the 3 photos that Leila has posted. 

**Cathy:** Leila! Answer for fucks sake!

**Ruby:** Maybe she is busy right now :-D 

**Lena:** <3 <3 <3 Marley!! Thank god it has become reality! Nothing, absolutely nothing is more beautiful than these 3 photos. <3 

**Ruby:** apart from the speculation that the two are making out wherever they are :-D

**Cathy:** :-D in any case, they seem so busy that she has ignored all our messages so far.

**Giulia:** If he would sit next to me like this, I would ignore you too :-D Leila should answer anyway. 

**Georgia:** WTF!!! Thank god your babbling, well the sounds of your incoming messages, woke me up! How the hell can you be this soppy on someone? <3 

**Cathy:** Those are Martin's eyes: <3 <3 

**Ruby:** :-D that is almost an understatement

**Giulia:** not only almost :-D

**Georgia:** Regarding your speculation - if Martin would sit next to me like in the last picture, I would not only be a bit busy :-D, if you understand what I mean...

Cathy sent a GIF in which Martin, as agent Phil Rask, kissed his colleague quite hot and passionate.  
Ruby sent a GIF in which Martin licked his lips lasciviously.  
Giulia sent a GIF in which Martin not only licked his lips lasciviously but also winked flirtatiously and charmingly.  
Lena sent a GIF in which Martin, also as Agent Phil Rask from the series StartUp, not only kissed his colleague but was making out with her - his hand caressed her bosom and then grabbed it excitedly.

**Georgia:** I see you have understood :-D but probably they are already doing more than just foreplay. 

**Cathy:** :-D there are no Gifs of that - but again to Marley <3 it's just AMAZING isn't it? I am really happy!

**Ruby:** Me too!!! <3 Leila really deserves him <3

**Giulia:** <3 It is terribly sweet. And she's the only one who deserves him! Especially after these pictures - he looks so incredibly happy; because of her <3 And it's nice that they just made it public. I bet they haven't been together that long. I'm glad that they can now enjoy their happiness just in a very relaxed way and without hiding. <3

**Georgia:** <3 Giulia, I agree with you! 

**Lena:** <3 1000% agreement. 

**Cathy:** <3 <3 <3 

\--------Chat--------------

  
One message after the other trickled in, while the tweet on the internet released more and more fans from their ignorance. 

  
And just half an hour after the tweet had been posted, the first article appeared on Twitter – posted by the Daily Mail's Twitter account, posted under the headline: 

**Martin Freeman on Cloud Nine with the Love of his Youth**   
_From Friends to Lovers from Lovers to Friends, from Friends to Lovers until the End. <3_


	37. 1979

_**\- Saturday, May/05 - 1979, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, Home of the Chaplin Family, Tree House -** _

**Flashback**

Happy and quite satisfied the still 7-year-old Martin and the still 7-year-old Leila were sitting in the completed tree house. 

Today it had been finally completed.  
Today it had finally been opened for playing, romping, hiding and sleeping.

Leila and Martin were extremely enthusiastic about the tree house, and especially Leila loved the great feature, the cockpit, which was big enough to sleep in the open cockpit area, to rest or to have a wild pillow fight - there were definitely enough pillows here for a big pillow fight.

The tree house had been completed this afternoon, and since then they have already eaten an ice-cream sundae up here, equipped their tree house with toys and pictures and even more cushions, and since then they have had dinner alone up here.

Already in the morning they had negotiated that if the tree house should be completed today, that they were allowed to stay the whole night - and since the sunny and good weather hadn’t turned into grey and rainy clouds, there hadn’t been anything to prevent them from spending the night in the tree house. 

Already two hours ago they said goodbye for the night in the tree house, but Leila and Martin still didn't sleep.  
They were far too excited and euphoric, were still far too jittery and awake.  
And exactly for this reason a wild pillow fight was in full swing on the mattress after they had already played a game and chatted. 

They laughed exuberantly and heartily, they beat each other round their heads with soft pillows. 

Leila hit Martin's blond hair with the pillow, laughed while doing so, felt Martin's pillow on her right ear shortly afterwards - heard him laugh too.  
Their pillow fight was very wild and very exuberant, but they were still careful while hitting each other since they didn’t want to hurt the other one.

Martin laughed giggling, ducked and escaped a hit with the pillow - gloating and cheeky, he laughed at Leila's messed up attack, but due to his carelessness the next attack hit him on the left cheek; and now it was Leila who laughed cheekily and gloatingly.

The short and slender arms of the two lowered exhausted - they first had to regain their strength again.  
They grinned at each other in the dim light of the battery-powered lamp.   
And they gasped and panted, but they still had enough air to giggle and laugh. 

A small beam of light appeared in the tree house.

Leila sat up on her knees, looking in the direction of the glowing cone of light.  
"There's light outside," she said startled.  
Martin turned around for a moment.  
"Where?" He asked and looked back at Leila.  
"There at the window... ", Leila murmured.  
Martin turned around again.  
"Maybe a car... ", he shrugged his shoulders.  
"They're driving funny," Leila murmured.  
Leila looked at him uneasily, looking through the tree house.

A beam of light appeared at the other window.

"Now the light was over there," she said, frightened, and pointing to the other window.  
Martin looked around, looking through the tree house, but he could only see the light from the battery-operated lamps.  
"I can’t see anything," he said and looked back at Leila.  
But since she only looked at him in fear, Martin looked around again - and now he saw the cone of light too.  
He slid to Leila, put his arm around her - protectively.  
"This is something harmless, Leila – for sure," he protected her with a hug and his warm and very young bright voice.  
"There's someone walking around the tree house... " Leila muttered worriedly and leaned closer to Martin. Martin hugged her tighter, pressed her closer against his slender and young body. "Something's wrong... I have a bad feeling." she muttered silently.  
"But I can't just go outside and say: have you lost your marbles. If there's anyone there at all," Martin also murmured silently.   
"But then we would know if someone’s out there..."  
"I'll stay here and protect you, Leila. I’m sure everything is alright. Your parents are taking care of us, no stranger will come into the garden," he said reassuringly and rubbed her back. 

The wood of the spiral staircase was creaking. 

Leila swallowed and snuggled up to Martin, who also swallowed and whose posture also became stiffer and more tense.  
Leila snuggled her face into the crook of his neck.

Again, the wooden stairs creaked. 

The children swallowed again, Martin pressed Leila closer to him, but at the same time he pushed himself a little in front of her - his heart was racing fast and excited.  
Leila was looking at the door again, her heart was beating fast, even so she felt protected. 

And again, they heard steps without a creaking, and then steps that caused a creaking.

They strained themselves a little more, knelt like two tin soldiers on the mattress in the cockpit, but Martin was still holding Leila protectively.

Slowly the door of the tree house opened.

Martin and Leila knelt on the mattress like two tin soldiers, their eyes huge, their hearts beating very fast.  
Martin held Leila protectively and securely like a bodyguard, but he too was now afraid.  
Leila clawed at Martin's T-shirt in the chest area with her right hand.

A big white dishevelled monster on two legs jumped into the tree house with a creepy scream.

Martin and Leila looked at the monster with big eyes, then closed their eyes - and then the two 7-year-old children screamed loudly, holding each other tight and protectively.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH."

The white, big, ruffled monster started laughing and took off the head of the yeti costume. 

"Geoffrey! Thomas! Could you stop frightening the children that much?!", Victoria shouted admonishingly through the garden.

Tom pointed the flashlight with a grin to his wife, just a moment ago he had used the flashlight to create the cones of light in the tree house.  
And Martin's father, who had dropped by for a tree house inspection after dinner, was now hit by pillows - he hadn't gone home yet, had chatted with Leila's parents and enjoyed the evening with them.  
But since they had heard the children's playing, chattering and laughing, they had decided to play a little trick on them, because they still weren't asleep.

The costume Martin's father wore was Tom's - last Halloween he had dressed up as a yeti, and the costume had been hanging in his closet ever since.  
Geoffrey put the yeti's head aside, adjusted his black frame glasses, walked towards the children with the rest of the costume and a grin on his face – he was still hit by pillows.

"You're stupid, Daddy!" Martin complained and smacked a pillow against his daddy’s ear as Geoffrey knelt on the mattress.  
"Yes! You're very stupid, Geoffrey!" Leila confirmed, and smacked another pillow against her best friend’s daddy’s face.

"I'm sorry," he said with a smile as he winked charmingly - he breathed a loving kiss on Martin's forehead, and also gave Leila a kiss on the head. "Forgive me. We wanted to scare you a little because you are still not asleep," he breathed thoughtfully. 

"You could have just come up, telling us off," Martin complained - he got another soft kiss on the forehead, then his father's hand caressed fatherly through the blond hair.  
"But that wouldn't have been so much fun," Geoffrey grinned and nudged Martin's little button nose with his forefinger.  
"When I have children, I won’t be this cheeky to them and I won’t play such cruel tricks on them," Martin said with conviction - but many years later this would turn out to be an infamous lie.  
Geoffrey grinned, ruffled his son’s blond hair again, kissed Martin's forehead again, nudged the little button nose again.  
"So, if you’re just a little bit like me, sweetheart, your children won't be safe from your cheeky pranks," he grinned softly - and many years later this statement would come true lots of times.   
Martin had to smile.  
"But then I'll hug them afterwards, cuddle them and kiss them a lot - and afterwards, I’ll be very sweet and kind again," he said, thus telling his father a truth that was still in the distant future.  
"Shall I do that now?' Geoffrey asked with a gentle wink.

Martin nodded with beaming eyes.

Geoffrey not only put his arms around Martin, smiling and loving, he also cuddled Leila gently and protectively into his hug.   
He cuddled the two 7-year-old children, rubbed over their backs, distributed many little kisses in his son's hair, and two-three little kisses in Leila's hair.

"It's alright, you two. We didn't mean to frighten you that much, we just wanted to prank you a little bit. It's all good outside, and Vicky and Tom are looking after you. You can sleep peacefully. You really don’t have to worry about another monster visiting you tonight," he whispered very warmly and lovingly. "Now just try to sleep and stop making such a racket."

Martin and Leila hugged him too, cuddled him and snuggled up to him, even nodded. 

Geoffrey ended his loving hug, lowered his arms.  
He turned to Martin, took his face in both hands, pressed a kiss on his forehead, a kiss on his cheek, a kiss on his nose and even shared a kiss on the lips with his youngest son.  
"I love you, little one. Sleep tight. I'll see you tomorrow for a big ice cream sundae."  
"I love you too, Daddy!" The blue eyes lit up and then he pressed a kiss on his dad's cheek.   
Gently, Martin felt his daddy’s hand ruffling through his hair and then his father turned to Leila.  
Geoffrey smiled at her - he nudged her nose.  
"Sleep well, Leila. And forgive the impertinent prank. But I think you're in very good hands with Martin tonight, in case a monster comes to visit you in your dreams."  
Leila smiled, waving to him.  
"I think so too," she nodded confidently. "Toodle-oo and kick my daddy's arse."  
Geoffrey laughed as he got up.

The two children watched the man in the Yeti costume taking the monster's head, turning around and waving with a smile – and then he closed the door.

They turned their heads towards each other, smiled, then actually crawled under a blanket.  
They turned towards each other, cuddled their heads on the pillows and hugged their teddies. 

"We'll come back to them with vengeance," Martin grinned.   
"We'll definitely do that," Leila grinned and then smiled. "Thanks for protecting me," she beamed to her best friend.  
"You're welcome," he beamed at her.

They snuggled up under the blankets, cuddled up on the pillows, snuggled their teddy to their chest.

"Good night, Leila," Martin whispered.  
"Good night, Martin," Leila whispered.

A few hours later they were awakened lovingly and calmly by Leila's mother Victoria.   
They were awakened very calmly; and from a bright and gentle voice they heard that there was a very nice breakfast waiting for them even here up in the tree house.

After rubbing their eyes, yawning and opening them, they could see it for themselves.   
They didn't get up for it, but they could see it from the cockpit.

Victoria smiled at them, she was already sitting here with them for ten minutes now.  
"May I take a picture of you after your first night in your beautiful tree house?" She asked.  
Leila immediately nodded with a smile.

She leaned against the side wall of the cockpit, far above her head was a unique spot in the wood.   
She was already putting her arm around Martin while her mother got up and took the Polaroid camera from the armchair.

Martin also put his arm around Leila, but with his other hand he stroked through his blond hair.  
"Does my hair look good?" He asked.  
He stroked through his blond fluffy hair again.

Victoria came back and smiled at him.  
"Your hair looks fantastic, darling," she smiled very gently.  
She knelt down on the mattress again, looked through the camera.

"And now... ", she started, but the two children were already cuddling their cheek against the other as they beamed authentically and naturally. "I don't need to say anything… " she smiled.

And a Polaroid photo was taken, which many years later, together with two other photos, would beam many fans of the blond boy into languishing and yearning.  
A Polaroid photo was taken, which, together with two other photos, would reveal to many fans of the blond boy that he was back on cloud nine with the love of his youth.


	38. 1988

_**\- Saturday, July/30 - 1988, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent -** _

**Flashback**

"Yes, yes... it's not the first time I've been alone, Mum!" Martin said impatiently. 

He was standing in the hallway with his mother and stepfather who were going to Winchester tonight – they wanted to go to an event with neighbours and friends Thomas and Victoria.   
In the house across the street, his girlfriend was also standing in the hallway, trying to get rid of her parents.

"I know that, Martin. But sometimes you get some pretty mischievous ideas."  
"Do you have any suggestions?" He grinned cheekily.  
Philomena rolled her eyes.  
"That boy..."  
"What could I possible do, Mum?"  
"Like you wouldn’t be able to think of something mischievous right now!"

James put his hand on his wife's back and helped his stepson.

"Come on, Mena. Let's go. I'm sure Martin would just love to spend the evening with Leila, and if we don't go, not only will we spoil their evening, but we'll be late for our event with Tom and Vicky."

The almost 17-year-old hurried to the door, opened it for his mother and stepfather - not to be polite and kind, but to make clear that they should leave.  
The front door across the street was also opened.

Philomena and James stepped out, greeting Thomas and Victoria with a waving grin.

"Well, have you been thrown out too?" Thomas cried as he walked across the street.  
Philomena nodded with a grin.  
"Yes – the time has come where my own son is chasing me out of my own house."  
The four of them went to James' car, grinned at each other, greeted each other warmly and heartily - but then turned around to their children again.

Victoria called over to Leila.  
"Don't do anything stupid, and we’ll be back sometime tonight - we were gonna have a drink after the event."  
Philomena called over to Martin.  
"Just don't get any ideas, and don’t take it as an invitation to party here just because you have the house to yourself tonight."

The two almost 17-year-olds shouted in unison:  
“Buzz off now!!!"

The adults laughed, then got into the car.  
And as soon as the car rolled down the street, as soon as the car turned from Culverlands Crescent to Shawfield Road, Leila grabbed a bag, closed the door behind her, and ran over to Martin.

She ran over to Martin with a dark green summer dress and a dark bag; her hair waved in the summer breeze as she ran.  
She rushed over to Martin, threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck – she felt his very warm hug immediately.   
Martin wrapped his arms around her - at last they were alone.   
He turned his head, kissed her cheek.  
He beamed at her as she leaned back a little; he beamed lovestruck, leaned forward a little, kissed her tender lips.   
Martin kissed her gently, hugged her even more tenderly - his kiss was returned euphorically.   
Euphorically and amorously their tongues found each other while kissing each other.   
On cloud nine and quite infatuated, they enjoyed their French kiss and the hug of the other. 

Their kiss ended with a gentle and quiet smacking.

They beamed at each other amorously, looked deep into each other's eyes, still cuddled each other.

"Shall we go?" Martin asked in a warm and loving voice.  
Leila nodded, pressed a kiss on his tender, youthful cheek.  
"Yes, let's go."

Martin lowered his arms, took a step back, grabbed his key - money was already in the right pocket of his short dark blue trousers.  
He put the key in his trouser pocket, ran his hand through his blond fluffy hair.   
And then he left the house with Leila, pulled the door in the lock and went to his bike with Leila.

They wanted to go the summer party at Mytchett Lake, but it was not just a few minutes’ walk away, it would take them 15 minutes by bike.  
Their parents didn't know that they wanted to go to the Mytchett Lake Summer Party, and they would certainly never know - they didn't always have to know everything. 

Martin got on his bike, Leila sat down on the handlebars, and then they rushed along the road.

Leila's hair and her dark green summer dress waved in the wind; she laughed amusedly, looking forward to the summer party with Martin, looking forward to the evening and the night with him, because they wanted to spend the night in the tree house.   
She sat on the handlebars of the bicycle and held on to them.

Martin pedalled the bike amusedly and in a good mood; he chauffeured his girlfriend to Shawfield Road, turned left.   
The blond hair was waving in the wind; the light blue shirt, which fitted perfectly to his hair, eyes and also to the short navy-blue pants, as well as the white sneakers, was also blowing in the wind.  
The pocket money, which he actually only spent on records, books and Leila, jangled with the key, the notes slipped only slightly back and forth.   
He chauffeured Leila safely along the road, then turned onto Ash Vale Road - which he would now be able to follow almost as far as Mytchett Lake. 

It took them 17 minutes with Leila sitting on the handlebars. 

Martin got off the bike, leaned the bicycle against a tree next to many other bikes, took his girlfriend's hand, bent to her and gave her a happy kiss on the cheek.   
Leila turned her head to him, gave him a kiss on the lips.  
Martin smiled enamoured and very gentle words left his mouth.

"I love you, Leila!"  
"I love you too, Martin!" Leila beamed with sparkling eyes. 

Martin squeezed her hand, his thumb caressed back and forth. 

Together, they walked from the bike to the lake. 

The summer party wasn't big, but there was music, a few stalls with food, a few stalls with drinks, and a few stalls with different games - can throwing, darts, raffle tickets, and much more.

Hand in hand Leila and Martin strolled across the summer party, which was already quite busy.   
They didn't let go of each other's hands while strolling, didn't even let go of each other's hands when they got something to eat and a beer - Martin had invited her gentlemanlike. 

They had sat down by the water, enjoyed the fresh summer breeze and the sun, savoured their treats and sipped a cup of beer together - their parents would probably not have allowed this trip, at least not alone, especially not with the beer; but they had been lucky, because they knew the owner of the beer stall, and he had poured the beer into a cup with a wink and the promise that no word would cross his lips. 

Sitting at the lake they had enjoyed the beer, their hearty treats and some kisses.   
At first they had thought about asking other friends to come along, but many of them were on holiday anyway, due to the summer holidays, and in the end they had preferred to go alone – they had wanted to enjoy a date. 

Sitting by the water, they had also enjoyed an ice cream and cotton candy after a second round around the summer party stalls – and after their treats they had simply sat and cuddled on the jetty of the lake for some time. To call it just cuddling was probably an understatement, because they had been snogging quite excitedly - but they hadn't been the only ones, because other couples were also snogging and making out here at the lake and at the summer party. 

They had also tried their luck at the raffle ticket booth, but the lottery tickets had not brought them any luck, and they had not had much luck throwing the cans either, but that had not diminished their good mood and fun.

By now it was already dark, lights were burning on the lake and at the summer festival - the music was still playing. 

Martin and Leila stood with many others on the dance floor of the summer party and did exactly what they were supposed to do here - they danced.  
They had just danced to 'Walk Like an Egyptian' and 'Walking on Sunshine', now they were dancing and laughing together to 'Karma Chameleon' by Boy George.   
Martin whirled Leila around the dance floor with lots of talent, had a lot of fun with her, liked to dance with her, because they both loved music very much - even though he was probably almost addicted to it.

Leila laughed, was pulled against Martin’s body all over again – she was kissed quickly and spun across the dance floor all over again.  
She loved to dance with him, because her boyfriend could dance pretty well - he was a pretty good dancer, no matter if they danced euphorically together, if they danced alone or very slowly together.   
They were already sweating, but they had lots of fun.

Karma Chameleon ended and a new song echoed across the dance floor. A song from the band 'The Style Council', with whose singer, Paul Weller, he would become friends many years later, echoed quietly and comfortably across the dance floor and the summer party.  
It was a song to cuddle - 'You're the Best Thing'.

Martin put his arms around Leila's hip, nestled his cheek against hers, felt her cheek nestle against his – she put her arms around his neck.  
Softly and to the beat of the music they cuddled and swayed to this song.   
Martin felt a kiss on his ear, felt not only goose bumps but also a tingling in his tummy and a fast beating heart - he was absolutely on cloud nine. 

The chorus echoed across the dance floor, and Martin's warm voice muttered the lyrics in a sing along flirtatious, shyly and charmingly into Leila’s ear.  
"Because you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world. You're the best thing that ever happened, so don't go away."  
Leila snuggled her cheek closer to Martin's, felt the warm tender youthful cheek - and she also felt her goose bumps, the palpitations and the butterflies in her tummy. 

Shortly before midnight, after a small sweet snack, more dancing, many more kisses and lots of cuddling, Leila and Martin arrived back at the Culverlands Crescent after a wild and fun ride on Martin’s bike.

The bicycle was just leaned against the Freeman family house wall, and then Leila and Martin walked to the Chaplin family’s property.

They had driven back completely unconcerned, since their parents had already said that they wanted to go for a drink after the event, apart from James who had to drive. So, they knew that the four friends would definitely not be back before midnight. 

Leila and Martin climbed up the tree house, closed the door, trudged while snogging to the cockpit and fell down on the mattress. 

They grinned at each other with red cheeks, bright eyes and swollen lips, leaned against the side wall of the cockpit, exchanged a sweet kiss on the lips. 

And then they leaned back, their heads almost reaching the distinctive spot in the wooden wall. 

"Oh, this has been a great and fun evening," Leila beamed. "Thanks for the great date, Martin!", Leila beamed even more.  
"My pleasure! It was truly amazing, and I had a lot of fun," Martin beamed. 

Leila grabbed the Polaroid camera that lay on the mattress in the cockpit, felt Martin put his arms around her neck when she leaned against the wooden wall again.   
She aligned the camera, pointed it at herself and Martin, beamed amorously into the camera lens as Martin kissed her cheek - she took a photo. 

The Polaroid camera was put aside, the photo slowly showed the two 16-year-old teenagers a gentle and very loving kiss on the cheek after a few moments; it radiated youthfulness and intimate infatuation. 

Leila swung one leg over Martin, sat down on his lap, beamed, bent down slightly and kissed his lips.   
Martin joined her intimate kiss immediately, buried his hands in her red hair, sighed as her fingers crawled across his neck and throat.

Leila's fingers caressed across his neck and throat, caressed to Martin's shirt - she unbuttoned it.  
And she felt quite clearly as she was sitting on Martin's lap, that her boyfriend wanted much more than just cuddling, snuggling and smooching.  
Her fingers unbuttoned the shirt very slowly while Martin's left hand slipped out of her hair.

He caressed over her shoulder, caressed her décolleté – he sighed as he caressed across her right bosom, purred as he caressed across her flat belly; and he moaned into the kiss as he uninhibitedly let his hand wander between her legs - he also heard his girlfriend sigh, purr and moan.   
His hand slipped beneath Leila's dress; his fingers caressed her panties, along the inside of her thighs, softly caressing the tender and soft skin.   
Gently he caressed along her right thigh, but then his hand slipped onto the mattress - it slipped between the wooden wall and the mattress, slipped under the mattress, and with two fingers he conjured a condom from between the wooden wall and the mattress; they had put a few condoms under the mattress as a secret hoard.

Together they crawled into the middle of the mattress, snuggled up, pulled the blanket over their bodies and switched off the flashlights.


	39. 2019

_**\- Thursday, November/21 - 2019, Surrey Heath, Ash near Aldershot, Culverlands Crescent, home of the Chaplin family, tree house -** _

Martin and Leila lay silently on the mattress in the tree house - the blanket didn’t cover them completely, it only warmed their legs.   
Music played out of an old cassette recorder - an old cassette with all kinds of songs resounded quietly and pleasantly through the tree house. 

An hour had passed since the little Twitter trip - an hour in which they had not paid attention to the smartphone.   
During that hour Leila had snuggled on Martin's lap before her lips and hands had been very busy with his dressed body.  
In that hour, Martin's sweatpants had been pulled down a little - he had sat on the mattress moaning, his back pressed against the wooden side wall of the cockpit and his hands buried in Leila's hair until he had reached his climax, shivering and trembling; her lips, teeth and tongue had caused the orgasm.  
During that hour they had disappeared under the blanket - Martin had also tenderly pulled down Leila's sweatpants a little bit, had enjoyed making love for many minutes before they had both reached their climax hidden under the blanket.   
In that one hour Martin's sweatpants had wandered over his butt again - the blanket had only hid Martin, who had been very busy under the blanket with his tongue, teeth and lips; the face between Leila's spread and tugged-up legs, he had kissed, sucked, licked and nibbled her to a squirting orgasm.   
An hour had passed since the little Twitter outing - an hour in which they had ignored the smartphone, being tenderly busy with each other.

Silently they lay on the mattress, listening to the music, enjoying the cuddling after making love with each other. 

Martin's head lay on Leila's cleavage.  
His eyes were closed; one hand slipped straight under the sweater Leila was wearing - he put his hand on the warmed skin of her belly, let his fingertips caress the flat tummy and tickled the tender skin.   
His voice was murmuring and whispering, half-singing rhythmically.

"Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world. You're the best thing that ever happened, so don't go away."

Leila smiled; she didn’t only listened to the song that sounded out of the old cassette recorder, but also to Martin's singing voice - only now at the chorus he joined in; even though she knew that he could sing the whole song by heart.   
Her left hand slipped gently beneath his sweater on her back, crawling the naked lumbar spine.   
Her right hand had been lying in the grey hair for several minutes, feeling the soft and thick and fluffy hair - she stroked through the grey hair, let the strands slide through her fingers, played with her fingers in his hair.   
Again and again, she had heard him purr. 

"We danced to this song lots of years ago," she breathed.  
"Yes, ... at the Mytchett Lake Summer Party," he smiled - enjoying the crawling, enjoying the playing in his hair, enjoying the cuddling.  
"Did you ever tell him we danced to his song?"  
"Yes,... but that wasn’t that long ago. Last year. I had dinner with him. I don't remember how we got to it. It's a little crazy that we danced to it, and then many years later he became a friend."  
Leila smiled, enjoyed the gentle caressing on her tummy, enjoyed the cuddling of Martin, enjoyed his body and his heartbeat, the feeling of his hair and the feeling of his naked skin under her fingers.   
"I also think it's crazy that the other Paul - our Marvel-Paul, that he plays the characters he liked the most in the film adaptations of his beloved Marvel Comics, at the side of the Avenger he thought was the coolest," Leila grinned. "And it's also crazy that you thought Black Panther was cool back then and recently starred in a movie about him."   
Martin laughed, then cuddled up a little closer to Leila, cuddled his head even more comfortably on her breasts.  
"Hmm, right. None of us could have guessed that all these years ago. I thought Doctor Strange was quite cool, too, and now I'm pretty good friends with the actor of Doctor Strange. And I was dressed up as Bilbo Baggins for Halloween, once – that year, when we ate too many sweets up here. It's crazy what life has in store for us sometimes."

Leila put her chin on her décolleté, breathed a kiss into Martin's grey hair, then laid her head comfortably on the pillow again.

"After that summer party, we took that picture we've just recreate," Leila smiled  
"That's true - and then we had sex, just like a few minutes ago," he smiled. "Speaking of that photo - did Twitter detonate due to our photos or does it still exist?" 

Martin growled discontentedly as Leila's hand slipped out of his hair.

"Can't you take the other hand?" he grumbled displeased, making Leila laugh.  
"I can't reach the smartphone with the other hand, Martin," she laughed and let the other hand slip out of Martin's sweater - it promptly got lost in Martin's hair before he could grumble again unhappily. "Is that better?"  
"There we go... ", Martin purred and closed his eyes contentedly and relaxed. 

Leila grinned, grabbed her smartphone and saw the countless messages in the WhatsApp group chat - new messages in the three-digit range.   
She smiled, she would read or skim through these messages later today.   
She opened Twitter while Martin moved his head slightly - not because he was positioning himself differently, but because he wanted to tell her to move her fingers again; he wanted to be caressed.   
Leila smiled in amusement, had understood the broad hint - she let her fingers gently run through his hair while the other hand was holding the smartphone. 

Twitter presented her notifications in a very high four-digit range. 

"Twitter didn’t detonate, yet," she smirked. "But I have almost ten thousand new notifications," she chatted and clicked on the icon.   
"We've only ignored it for an hour!" Martin said stunned.   
"Enough time for your fans to send the tweet around the world, comment and like and spread it on Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr, and enough time for the press to write articles - 'Martin Freeman on cloud nine with the love of his youth'... ", she read the headline of the Daily Mail article. "Daily Mail," she added.  
"Oh, that's the first understatement in the history of that annoying newspaper," Martin commented the headline. "Cloud nine? Pah. That's a pretty sassy and insulting understatement," the voice sounded amorous and flirtatious, sassy and mischievous.

Leila laughed, softly ruffled through his hair – she felt absolutely calm and relieved.   
This cheeky and mischievous comment about the Daily Mail headline showed her that Martin still felt very comfortable with the decision to make his love and private life public. 

She skimmed through the notifications, but new ones appeared at the same time.   
And again, she had to laugh heartily.

"What are you laughing at?" Martin asked irritated.   
"Paul," Leila laughed.  
"Which one? Beatles-Paul, Clothing-Paul, Music-Paul or Marvel-Paul?"  
"Your best friend, Marvel-Paul."  
"What did he do?"

Leila was still laughing, then held the phone in front of his face to show him the tweet.

**Paul Bettany @Paul_Bettany:**   
_@LeilaVChaplin_  
My two dearest lovebirds <3   
(A Gif was displayed - a Gif in which the grey rabbit Thumper got a kiss from Miss Rabbit; a Gif in which the rabbit ears of the lovestruck Thumper knotted together amorously as the sweet rabbit fainted enamoured)

And now Martin laughed too.

"That's such a weirdo. He'll wake up Jennifer to show her your tweet. It's only 5 o’clock in the morning in Brooklyn. Why the fuck is he awake?"  
"It was pretty funny when he was screaming all over his house to tell them that we’re a couple again – when we were skyping a few weeks ago," Leila grinned and skimmed through her notifications all over again. "It was also kind of sweet that he was that euphoric about it."  
"Yes,... in a way it was very sweet." Martin smiled.

And again, he heard the laugh that made the butterflies dance in his tummy.

"What has happened now?" Martin asked curiously.  
"Paul," Leila grinned.  
"The same one?"  
"Yes, still your best friend."

She held the smartphone in front of his face again, still playing with the grey hair, because as soon as she stopped, Martin nudged her fingers with his head.

**Paul Bettany @Paul_Bettany:**  
 _@LeilaVChaplin_  
1987 and 2019 - simply a perfect match! <3 Nothing has changed. _@teresa_sandringham_  
(Two photos were in his Tweet - whose Likes were rising rapidly)

Martin tapped on the first photo - it was an old photograph, a photo from 1987.  
He still knew exactly when the picture had been taken. That day, he had met with Leila, Paul and Teresa at Paul's house, but the evening and the night he had just spent with Leila, here in the tree house, enjoying sex for the very first time.   
The photo he was looking at had been taken by Paul's mother - and it showed them doing their favorite activities.   
His 15-year-old self was sitting on the bed with Leila - they were sitting there, hugging and snuggling, snogging.   
Paul's 15-year-old self was sitting in front of the bed, legs stretched out - he was reading an Iron Man comic.  
Teresa's 15-year-old self was sitting next to Paul, a Polaroid camera in front of her face, she photographed in Paul's direction.  
The photo had been staged - shortly after the shot had been taken, they had all sat together at Paul's Nintendo Entertainment System, enjoying cake and lemonade from Paul’s mother.

He had to grin - only recently they’d recreated this photo.

Martin tapped on the second photo - the comments of the photos raised rapidly as well as the Likes, since these two photos were showing sharing intimate French kisses, his teenage and adult self.  
After all these years, the two photos and Paul's reactions revealed another secret to the fans – the photos and Paul’s reaction revealed that they have known each other for ages and were very close friends. 

In the second photo you could see a screenshot - a screenshot from a Skype session that had taken part just a few days ago. In that special Skype session, they had recreated the previous photo.  
Every one of them was pictured in the screenshot, even so they had been in different places - but each one of them could be seen in a separate window at the Skype group meeting.   
Paul's 48-year-old self was sitting in Brooklyn in front of his laptop - he was holding an Iron Man comic in front of his face, reading it; the T-shirt he was wearing showed himself as Vision.   
Teresa's 48-year-old self was sitting in front of the laptop in London-Richmond - she held a reflex camera in front of her face, photographed the laptop and her friends in it.  
Leila’s 48-year-old self was sitting on his lap - they were sitting in front of the laptop in the kitchen in London-Hampstead. He had buried his hands in her hair, her hands lay on his cheeks - they were kissing very intimately and were clearly identifiable even to untrained eyes. 

Martin smiled, took the smartphone out of Leila's hand - and then he typed a Tweet, but had to move his head briefly since Leila had stopped her loving play in his hair.

Leila grinned, moving her fingers in his hair again - running through it, playing with it, twirling the strands around her fingers.  
And Martin sent a comment into the vastness of the internet.

**Ginge <3 @LeilaVChaplin: **  
_@Paul_Bettany @teresa_sandringham_  
Go back to sleep, Paul! Instead of posting every snogging picture of Leila and me! :-D. 

**Paul Bettany @Paul_Bettany:**   
_@LeilaVChaplin @teresa_sandringham_  
I haven’t been able to rave and be happy about your gobsmacking love comeback sufficiently, yet ;-) - Jenn is mad because I woke her up :-D. 

**Ginge <3 @LeilaVChaplin:**   
_@Paul_Bettany @teresa_sandringham_  
I can't believe you actually woke her up just because of Leila’s Tweet!

**Paul Bettany @Paul_Bettany:**   
_@LeilaVChaplin @teresa_sandringham_  
Unfortunately, he woke me up just as euphoric as he had already shouted the good & lovely news through the house a few weeks ago. Greetings from Brooklyn to Aldershot. Bettany Over & Out. 

Martin grinned, dropped Leila's smartphone - new notifications had constantly been popping up; he had probably initiated some of them, since he had made quite clear, due to the choice of his words, that it was him who was replying.

"Paul woke her up. He thought she was angry, and then she replied," he grinned broadly.   
Leila laughed, tousled gently through Martin’s hair - and then she wrapped her arms around Martin's body, lovingly hugging him dearly.  
"You feel good and comfortable, don't you?"

Martin purred, cuddled and snuggled up to Leila.

"Yes. I feel very comfortable with the decision, Leila."  
Leila cuddled him, enjoying the intense cuddling and snuggling of him.  
"Good," she breathed – she was really glad that he didn't regret the decision and above all that felt good and comfortable with it, after all she knew that his private life was actually very sacred to him; and now not only her photos had appeared, but also two private photos that Paul had posted.  
"You don't need to worry," Martin breathed with a smile - and in fact, not even the private photos that Paul had posted without asking beforehand made him feel uncomfortable, these Tweets of Paul weren’t unwelcome. He felt exactly what he wanted to feel - namely, that loving and being a couple felt just as carefree and comfortable as it did back then; he wanted to enjoy it just as carefree and comfortable as he did back then.

Slowly and with some effort, as Leila held him in her very warm and cuddly hug, Martin turned on his stomach.

He was still hugged by Leila - but now he could look at her.

A great radiance lay on their faces.   
Their eyes were glowing.

Martin winked, bent down, breathed a kiss on Leila's lips.   
"Let's ignore the phone again," he breathed and kissed her lips again. "It's getting rather cold in here now," he muttered against Leila's lips, then kissed them a third time. "How... about... a... " he muttered against her lips and kissed her after each word. "shower,... the... two... of… us… together."  
Leila smiled against Martin's lips, enjoyed feeling a kiss after each word - she nodded.

Martin's nose rubbed against the tip of Leila's nose, but then the lips captured hers again. 

  
He couldn't wait for a hot shower, a delicious breakfast and a proper cup of tea - and then they would slowly make their way back to London, where the couch in the living room was waiting for them to give them comfort while they would cuddle and snuggle and kiss.


	40. Flourished Love

_**\- Saturday, December/04 - 2019, London, City of Westminster, near Hyde Park -** _

The sky above London had become dark, but the lanterns were still burning, as much as all the rooms behind the many windows of the apartments, flats and houses, restaurants, bars and pubs.   
The cold air of today’s December night was gently blowing through the streets of London, showing clearly that it was winter, but still giving the residents the chance to feel comfortable without their caps.   
The city was alive - the evening had just begun.

Martin turned his head to the side, was just on the direct way to Hyde Park, which was only a few-minutes-walk from Leila's apartment.   
He turned his head towards her, beaming at her from sea blue eyes.   
He let go of her hand, put his arm around Leila's shoulder, pulled her closer as he walked - he gave her a loving kiss on the cheek. 

Since they had officially announced that they were a couple on Twitter a week ago, they hadn’t been seen in public due to work and other commitments.  
Today, for the very first time, they walked the streets of London, obviously amorously.   
But since they had announced that they were a couple on Twitter a week ago, Martin hadn’t regretted it for a second - he just felt incredibly well and comfortable, was on cloud nine, couldn't be happier.

Martin gave the love of his youth a second kiss on the cheek.   
It was a shame that he had needed to let go the missing piece of his life several decades ago, but he could hardly put into words how purely happy he was to have found the exact same missing piece of his life again.   
He still felt full of energy due to their love comeback, as if he were on top of the world.   
The love for Leila and the love that Leila gave him made him run at full speed - and after many decades he enjoyed his life truly again, and with all its facets. 

They were on their way to the Christmas market.

Leila put her arm around Martin's back, turned her head towards him, sparkled at him, exchanged a little kiss with him while walking along the street.   
They turned their heads back to the pavement.  
Her heart was beating fast and loud - it was a wonderful feeling to enjoy this relationship with him again, wherever they were, whoever was with them, whoever could see them.  
It was wonderful to be able to fully enjoy this love with him again.   
She was very much looking forward to the evening at the Christmas market with her best friend and the love of her youth.

They lowered their arms; their hands found each other again, their fingers intertwined. 

They could feel the naked skin, because even though they had both put on a comfortable scarf, they didn’t wear a cap nor gloves.

They strolled through the streets for a few minutes, keeping silent, enjoying holding hands while their hearts raced, and their tummies tingled. 

"Here they come, our two lovebirds," Teresa grinned, who was waiting at the entrance of the Christmas market. The brown hair was almost hidden under a cap, the green eyes shone to Martin and Leila. "We were right back then. They're inseparable not only as best friends, but as lovers too. Gosh, they’re so cute."  
"But for many years they have tormented us with waiting - it was really time for them to fall in love all over again. I was already getting ready to complain about the fact that they weren’t falling in love with each other all over again." Paul said in a grinning voice. He was in London since a few days now – working. And he had gladly and happily accepted the invitation to the Christmas market, after all, you couldn't spend enough time with your very best friends from your childhood.  
"It's much better to meet them like this - already knowing they'll be kissing and cuddling and flirting all the time; I like that much better than just seeing them all friendly."  
Paul laughed - also suspected that they would no longer be out with two best friends, but with the two young turtledoves from back then, but he also liked this much better.

Martin and Leila stopped in front of Paul and Teresa, still holding hands.

"What have you tattled about?" Martin grinned.  
Teresa smirked.  
"About the fact that you'll be kissing and cuddling and flirting all the time," she grinned even more. "But we like that much better than if you're just decent best friends."  
Leila grinned, wrapped her arms around Martin neck, cuddled him and gave him a big peck on the cheek.  
"Is that what you mean?"  
Paul smirked.  
"That’s exactly what we mean." He beamed euphorically at the two of them. "Don't feel interrupted by us or anyone. It's fantastic to see you two as a couple again!"  
"That's right. Don’t dare to stop kissing and cuddling and flirting tonight, don’t dare to not bill and coo massively tonight!" Teresa grinned.  
"If you dare, I'll complain to your fans via Twitter," Paul threatened his best friend.

Martin and Leila laughed, turned their heads towards each other - Leila still had her arms wrapped around Martin's neck.

"Let's not disappoint our friends," Martin winked flirtatiously. "Besides, I could do with a kiss, the last one was far too long ago," he still flirted charmingly.

Leila nudged his nose with hers, sparkled into his eyes before closing them and capturing his lips.   
In no time at all she seduced the love of her youth in an intimate and dearly, very tender and loving French kiss.  
Her hands wandered gently into his grey hair - she even heard him sigh.   
Knowing that he had never kissed this dearly, intensively and intimately in public since his breakthrough, she didn't want to deepen the intimate French kiss at all, didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, but Martin didn't give her a chance to end the kiss.  
It was Martin who took the lead when she wanted to end the kiss; it was Martin who intensively deepened the French kiss; it was Martin who showed her that he couldn’t feel more comfortable; it was Martin who showed her that he wanted to enjoy their love as much as they did it back then, without any restraint.

Paul and Teresa looked at the two of them uninhibitedly, watched them kissing quite uninhibitedly, just grinning to themselves knowingly - oh, it was wonderful to experience these two turtledoves again. 

Only slowly the kiss ended, only slowly Martin and Leila released their intimate hug with a languishing smile.

They turned their heads back to their friends, smiling.

"Is that what you want to see tonight?" Martin asked with a grin.  
"Definitely!", Teresa and Paul nodded in unison.  
"We can fulfil that wish," Martin smiled and then took a step towards Paul. "Let's say a proper hello first."

Leila and Teresa were hugging each other, as well as Martin and Paul, before Leila greeted Paul with a hearty hug, and Martin greeted Teresa with a hearty and warm hug.  
You could feel and see that the intense friendship of the past hadn’t changed a bit - the four of them were still one heart and soul.

The four friends had entered the Christmas market after the warm and hearty welcome, not knowing that the warm and heart welcome was already being wildly discussed and raved about on Twitter - although they had neither filmed nor photographed the kissing part, they had seen and recognised it.

The four friends had walked and strolled around the Christmas market completely unsuspectingly, enjoying all the scents and smells, the Christmas spirit, the music, the atmosphere and their time together among friends.   
They had feasted and drunk, warmed up and listened to the music, talked and had lots of fun - so far.   
The four friends didn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate their reunion and the love comeback with mulled wine and eggnog. 

Paul and Teresa were massively euphoric about the love comeback – they just loved it to have them around when they were constantly flirting, kissing, cuddling, hugging, snuggling, holding hands and watching each other with dreamy and amorous eyes.  
They had gotten used to that too much back then, and now they could experience it again.

Martin didn't even feel a heart racing, even if this was the very first being all lovestruck and madly amorous in the public - never before, since his breakthrough, he had kissed, cuddled, snuggled, hugged and flirted in public; not to this extent, not even close.  
But today he didn't hold back his infatuation; today he showed quite clearly that he was immensely happy, and that he was on the fluffiest cloud nine you could possibly find.   
He enjoyed the evening immensely, simply feeling absolutely comfortable and relaxed with the love of his youth - and that's why his heart didn't raced with excitement, even so he had noticed some fans already. 

Only a few minutes ago they had enjoyed another eggnog, as well as a tasty feast, and were now standing in front of a stage where some people performed Christmas songs.  
That they were standing in front of the stage was a lie, because they had mingled among the people who were rollicking dancing in front of the stage, being in a pre-Christmas mood. 

Paul danced with Teresa.  
Martin danced with Leila.

Leila enjoyed dancing with Martin, snuggled up to him - they were not dancing to a Christmas rock song at the moment, they were cuddling up to one of the slower and calmer Christmas songs.  
Leila had put her arms around Martin's neck, felt his bearded cheek against hers, while his arms were holding her around her waist.

"It's good to see you feeling this relaxed and comfortable, easy going and truly happy," she breathed - a purr escaped her as Martin breathed a kiss on her cheek.  
"How couldn’t I feel like this? I'm holding the love of my youth in my arms, with whom I enjoyed a love comeback barely three months ago," he murmured directly into her ear, kissed it afterwards. "I thought it would be exciting and nerve wrecking, but it’s neither nerve wrecking nor exciting; it's just beautiful and natural. I like that it's just beautiful and natural, that we enjoy our love like any other couple," he breathed into her ear again, then kissed it again. "It's lovely not to be special with you, but to be special to you," he muttered, cuddling her even more intimately. "You know what I mean?"  
"Yes... " she purred and breathed a kiss on his cheek. "You like it that you’re not special to me because of your job," she murmured. "You're a lot more than that to me, Baby. You know that. But I know what you mean, and I can understand that you enjoy being just Martin, you always enjoy being just Martin. And I’m happy that you feel this comfortable a happy while sharing your love life with the public", she breathed a kiss on his cheek again. "I just like being a lovestruck couple with you."

Martin smiled, didn’t stop dancing with her, still moved with her rhythmically; he turned his head slightly and breathed a kiss on her lips.  
"Yeah,… lovestruck couples kiss... " he charmingly introduced the next intimate kiss.  
His lips captured Leila's lips again, kissing her intimately and tenderly while he still danced with her, softly swaying - still very talented to the beat of the music. 

Snogging and courting they cuddled on the dance floor, but they didn't lose the beat.  
Snogging and courting Leila enjoyed the kiss, her hands gently grabbing the grey hair at the back of Martin’s head.  
Snogging and courting Martin cuddled with her, forgot the world around him, but could still follow the beat of the music.

Paul and Teresa grinned at each other when they discovered Martin and Leila – dancing while snogging and courting.   
"As cheesy and excessively romantic as it is, I've really missed it these last decades," Paul grinned.  
"Me too! Now the world is fine again," she grinned.  
Teresa and Paul grinned, danced a little closer to their friends, nudged them on purpose; after all they had done that sometimes back then too, to tease the two lovebirds. 

The time at the Christmas market passed quickly, but they couldn't get enough, even though they could already feel the cold skin under their clothes, even though they already had red ears and red noses.  
But the feasting and drinking kept them warm, and so did their intimate friendship.

At the moment they were standing on the ice rink that had been set up.   
They had borrowed ice skates.   
Each one of them could skate, after all they had learned to skate at a young age. 

\----------Flashback----------  
 _\- Sunday, January/07 - 1979, Surrey Heath, Ash at Aldershot, Willow Park, smallest pond -_

"Ow," Martin muttered as he once again didn’t slide across the frozen surface of the smallest pond in Willow Park but slipped on the ice. 

Geoffrey slid across the ice, slid to his son.  
He smiled down, grabbed Martin and put his 7-year old son back on his feet.  
Gently he stroked Martin’s knitted cap, then nudged the little button nose.

"Take it easy, Sweetheart."

Martin looked up with blue admiring eyes, nodded - it actually was quite alright, considering that he was on the ice for the first time ever today.   
He just decided that he wouldn’t slip on the ice again any time soon.

"Watch out, watch out, watch out," Leila's bright voice cried. "I can't stop."

But before Geoffrey and Martin could pay attention, Leila was already bumping into her best friend.  
She grabbed his jacket; her feet slipped wildly across the ice - she wanted to hold on to him, but her feet on the ice didn't calm down.  
Leila fell to the ground, dragging Martin with her - and since Geoffrey had held his son by the hand, he couldn't keep his balance. 

"Ow.", Martin murmured again. 

A gentle kiss was pressed apologetically onto his soft cheek - a gentle kiss from Leila.

\---------Flashback Ende----------

A gentle kiss was pressed apologetically onto his bearded cheek - a gentle kiss from Leila. 

They hadn't slipped on the ice, but Leila had accidentally hit his foot while avoiding bumping into a wild and staggering child.

Hand in hand they skated across the ice - the push against his foot hadn't even put Martin out of balance, because now he could skate pretty well; his father had taught them how to do it.  
Not only him.  
That day in 1979, not only Leila and he had skated on the frozen pond for the very first time, but also Teresa and Paul.   
His father had taught them how to skate – all of them.   
Hand in hand, he skated across the ice with Leila, squeezed her hand, turned his head towards her, even kissed her on the cheek - the thought of his father made his heart even warmer; it was a beautiful and very lovely memory.

Leila smiled, turned around on the ice – she was skating backwards, was skating in front of him.  
Her turquoise eyes sparkled to him as she took his other hand in hers as well.

Martin returned the beaming smile, led her across the ice, led her skilfully across the ice.  
He took her with him for one lap, but then he pulled her gently towards him, stopped in the middle of the ice rink - so that others had to drive around them as they were an obstacle.  
He could no longer resist her intense flirtatious and beaming gaze.

He raised his hands, grabbed her face, captured her lips longingly and with a strong beating heart.   
Her intense lovestruck look had triggered the longing and the strong beating heart.   
He kissed her lovingly and deeply, kissed her longingly and devotedly - the kiss showed her very clearly that he was very much in love with her.

Leila put her arms around his back, cuddled and snuggled up to him, held him in a dearly hug while she let herself be kissed skilfully.   
His cold lips felt fantastic; his cold lips tasted delicious.  
Leila snuggled up to him, sighed in the kiss, and was only too happy to be seduced to an even deeper kiss.

Paul and Teresa were just taking a break at the ice rink boards - their eyes had followed Martin and Leila with a smile, and now they stared at them quite uninhibitedly.  
"It's insane how massively soppy there are on each other," Pau smiled. "I mean, I really love my wife more than anything, but compared these two here, the love for my wife seems like harmless friendship," he grinned broadly.  
Teresa grinned.  
"I must agree with you. It's pretty cute, though. The two were simply meant for each other from the beginning," she now smiled. "And I especially love that Martin feels so comfortable here in public. I mean, just look at him - there's Mr. Martin Freeman, for whom the private life is absolutely sacred, and he's smooching and cuddling with his girlfriend on a brightly lit ice rink in the middle of Hyde Park - and we're not the only ones watching them; the two girls over there are fans of him, I’m a hundred percent sure about that. It's just lovely to see him so purely and truly happy and just easy going. I’m so happy for him and for them. This just makes my heart skip a beat."

Paul nodded in agreement.  
"Absolutely!" he smiled, very happy for his best friend. "It's just fantastic what's happening here, with an amazing statement," he nodded again. "Do you remember skating in Homewood Park after school? We skated there in secretly, and then we got caught. Mr. Woods had caught us. We had detention the next day. I think it was 1989."  
"That was 1988, Paul. In January. I'll never forget that. I never liked maths anyway, and then we get caught by our maths teacher, of all people, who wasn't very friendly anyway."  
Paul grinned and nodded, then pointed at Leila and Martin.  
"They'd been smooching there too."  
"That's true!" Teresa laughed.

\----------Flashback----------  
>em>\- Tuesday, January/12 - 1988, Surrey, Chertsey, Homewood Park, pond -

"It's insane how massively soppy there are on each other," 16-year-old Paul grinned at Teresa - they were skating across the frozen pond.

It was actually forbidden to skate here, but the desire to go ice skating for free after school had been just too big - and they could hardly miss a free skate on the frozen pond, could they?  
At the moment only Paul and Teresa were skating since Leila and Martin were busy smooching and courting.

Martin only ended the deep French kiss for a few moments, letting his lips caress across Leila's ear.  
"I love you, Leila," the 16-year-old purred amorously and charmingly into his girlfriend's ear.   
Leila wrapped her arms around Martin's neck a little more, nestled her cheek against his.  
"I love you too, Martin. I love you so much," the 16-year-old muttered lovestruck against Martin's cheek.   
Soft kisses met Leila's ear, Leila's cheek and Leila's lips as the boy's hands slid from her back to her butt. 

Their lips kissed each other once more while Martin's hands gently grabbed his girlfriend's luscious butt - very tenderly.  
His tongue licked across her lower lip, asking for a French kiss.  
He nudged her tongue, tenderly asked for a soft and tender dance - and she didn’t deny him the French kiss; he was allowed to seduce her into a tender and loving French kiss.  
His hands disappeared into the trouser pockets of his girlfriend's butt, grabbed her buttocks gently again - he pressed her even closer, heard her purr and sigh; but he had to sigh into the French kiss himself.

He loved to kiss the love of his youth, loved to cuddle with her, loved to feel her and to flirt with her. 

Gently he felt her hands in his blonde hair - they forgot everything around them, were in their very own world, in which just smooching, and cuddling were important. 

"Misses Sandringham! Misses Chaplin! Mister Bettany! Mister Freeman!", it roared from the path that led around the little pond. "Leave the pond immediately!!!"

Leila and Martin startled, recognising the voice immediately - the voice of their maths teacher, who was in for everything that wasn't fun and pleasure and lark.  
They ended their kiss abruptly, glanced at their angry math teacher with wet and swollen lips - he made wild gestures which should tell them to come to him.   
Paul always called him Thanos - and the Marvel villain not only suited the personality but also the appearance of their maths teacher; he was not purple, but he was tall, huge and angular, and had no hair.

Patiently and with an angry expression on his face, he waited for Leila, Martin, Paul and Teresa to slither to the edge of the pond and exchange their skates for winter shoes.

"It's forbidden to skate on the pond! Haven't you learned to read in all these years?!"He grumbled at them in a loud voice – was just on his way home. "You're going to the bus stop right now! And you can expect your school day to last two hours longer tomorrow! Detention for all of you!”

Paul and Teresa looked annoyed, Leila didn't look too enthusiastic either - why had their maths teacher, of all people, walked through Homewood Park; any other teacher might have grumbled, but they wouldn't have given them two hours of detention.

Martin looked at him and held Leila’s hand.

"But I can’t. I have a rehearsal tomorrow," he said – didn’t want to skip the detention, just meant that he couldn’t do it tomorrow.  
"Yes, you can, Mr. Freeman! Then you'll have plenty of time to do your homework at least once in your school career! You'll get detention like the others – so you can learn something proper instead of wasting your time on acting! And contain yourself in public, Mr. Freeman! We’re not in a house of pleasure! Go home now!"

Martin wanted to reply, but Leila gently caressed the back of his hand with her thumb, pulled him in the other direction to walk to the bus stop – with him and the others. 

"Asshole!" Martin murmured as they walked to the bus stop – he wasn’t the only one murmuring that word.

Leila loosened her hand, put her arm around her boyfriend’s shoulder, hugged him and gave him a big kiss on the tender youthful cheek, even a second and third one afterwards - the kisses conjured a smile to his face.

\----------End of Flashback-----------

Only slowly Martin's lips separated from Leila’s.  
A sparkle and beam lay on their faces; the lips were red and swollen, and moist from kissing.   
They breathed a little kiss on their lips.

The four friends took advantage of every single minute at the Christmas market, and didn’t leave it until the Christmas market was closed.

With a warm and hearty hug, they said goodbye to each other at the Tube Station Queensway.

Meanwhile Leila and Martin were already on the Northern Line - once they had changed the tubes, but now they would directly drive to Hampstead.   
They had just stopped at Warren Street - now there were only six stations left. 

Leila and Martin stood - the tube was still full of people.   
They stood close together, hugged each other, cuddled in the brightly lit tube.   
Martin had put his arms around her, his hands were in her trouser pockets at her luscious butt, his bearded cheek lay against her tender cheek.   
Leila had put her arms around Martin's neck, enjoying the feeling of his beard, while her fingers enjoyed the soft grey hair. 

Martin breathed a kiss on her cheek, then breathed a kiss on her ear.  
"I love you, Leila," he whispered and flirted charmingly.  
"And I love you, Martin. I love you so much," Leila whispered with a tingling tummy - could tell from Martin's voice that he was having a tingling tummy too.  
Martin's lips kissed her ear with an amorous smile, then kissed gently along her cheek - he could still feel the tingling tummy.

His lips reached her lips.

A loving kiss developed from sweet little kisses.  
A kiss that got more intense.  
A kiss that made them not realise that they had already passed the next station - Euston.  
A loving kiss that became more and more intimate and dearly, which they deepened and savoured amorously.  
A kiss that made their tummies tingle.  
A kiss that made them not realise that they have left two more stations behind - Mornington Crescent and Camden Town.

Only three more stations.

Martin bit her lower lip, sucked gently on it, nibbled gently on it, caught it and freed it again, captured her lips again and entangled Leila in a tender French kiss.  
His hands lovingly grabbed Leila's luscious buttocks. 

They stood in the brightly lit and stuffed tube like two lovestruck teenagers.

With a heavy heart Martin ended the kiss as the tube left Chalk Farm and announced Belsize Park - after which the tube would reach Hampstead.  
He licked his lips, gazed at her briefly, then cuddled his cheek against her cheek, whispered charmingly and flirtatiously into her ear.

"Perhaps we should save that for later," the warm whispering voice flirted charmingly.

Lying in bed, it hadn't been about making love with each other; they had simply enjoyed kissing, cuddling, snuggling and flirting for a while - they had enjoyed every single second, had savoured every little second.

Leila was no longer awake.  
She cuddled beside him, snuggled up to him as she was fast asleep.  
She hugged his right arm, snuggled her face against his upper arm.  
Leila was no longer awake, but Martin was still lying next to her on his back, and he was awake.

Martin lay in the dark bedroom, holding his smartphone in his hand.

His smartphone was in his left hand; his right index finger was tapping the screen at regular intervals so that he didn't have to re-enter his code at regular intervals.  
He didn't actually do anything with the smartphone, just looked at the screen - to be more precise, he stared at the screen with beaming eyes as his heart raced and the butterflies in his tummy danced wildly, while warmth rushed through every vein, artery and cell, while a pleasant tingling sensation fluttered through his body, making his heart beat a little faster every few seconds. 

The azure-blue eyes sparkled lovestruck and on cloud nine; they sparkled and beamed at a selfie he had made with Leila at the Christmas market.  
He beamed with the sea-blue eyes to Leila, who was standing very close to him in the picture, cuddling her cheek against his cheek - her turquoise eyes sparkled amorously.  
But Leila's eyes didn’t only sparkle amorously; the turquoise eyes glittered and sparkled, showing clearly that she was on cloud nine.  
The sparkle in her eyes and the glow on her face showed him very clearly how much she was in love with him, infatuated and soppy on him.

A radiant smile had settled on his face and he just couldn't get it off his face.   
He felt the heart thump, felt the heart pounding wildly against his chest, felt the heart making sure that this pleasant tingling feeling fluttered through his body – without a break, without giving him a rest.  
He felt the wild dance of the butterflies in his tummy very intensely, which were also responsible for the heat rushing through every vein, artery and cell.

His index finger briefly tapped the screen, which then shone brightly again. 

He felt comfortably warm, felt deeply relaxed, felt as if he was on top of the world, felt motivated and happy - happy with himself and the world, that was what he was feeling inside of him.

Dreamily, his eyes looked at the photograph; he sighed lovestruck.  
His eyes hardly blinked, not wanting to lose sight of this photograph and the person pictured in it for a second. 

He tapped the screen with his index finger.

The azure blue eyes shone and sparkled.  
The heart stopped for a moment, then raced hard and quickly against his ribcage, making his ears roar.  
The lips still showed a breathtakingly happy smile.  
He felt goose bumps on his body, on his entire body - on his neck, on his arms, on his legs, on his back, on his tummy and chest.  
He shivered pleasantly. 

The thumb tapped the screen.

The heart beat faster again.  
She was no longer just his best friend, with whom he once had a harmonious and perfect romantically relationship.  
She was now his best friend, with whom he once had a harmonious and perfect romantically relationship and with whom he had enjoyed a love comeback, with whom he once again had a harmonious and absolutely perfect romantically relationship.

He beamed at the selfie, tapped the display again.  
He turned his head to the side, beamed down to Leila.  
He turned his head back, had to tap the display again.  
He beamed at the selfie again – feeling all warm, truly and purely happy and just on top of the world.

He could hardly wait to enjoy the next year with her and to savour every day of it.  
And he wondered what the next year would have in store for them - for him and for the love of his youth.


End file.
